In Vitro Fertilisation  (IVF)

What is in vitro fertilisation (IVF)?
IVF is used to help couples that cannot conceive naturally. A number of eggs are fertilised by sperm in a

petri-dish and one or two of the newly created embryos are then transferred tothe womb in the hope that

they will implant.

How often is IVF used?
IVF births account for about 1% of the total number of births in Britain each year and 68,000 IVF babies

have been born since 1978. However IVF is much more widely used than the number of births suggest.

This is because IVF has about an 80% failure rate.

What does the 80% failure rate mean?
For the total number of IVF treatment cyclescarried out in Britain every year only about 20%result in a live

birth. However, far fewer than 20% of embryos actually survive because many more are created than will

be transferred to the womb and survive to birth.

Is IVF safe?
There is a risk in IVF treatment of the woman suffering over-stimulated ovaries as a result of
the drugs given in order to harvest eggs. Some women have died, although this is rare.
Leading IVF scientists would like to run periodic health checks on all IVF babies, as they do not know if

IVF can lead to health or developmental problems in the children it produces. They believe that there may be

health risks for children created from frozen embryos and a risk of infertility for boys created by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) used in cases of male sub-fertility.
Above all, IVF is highly dangerous for the embryos involved.

In Vitro Fertilisation: Ethical or not?
IVF techniques put the life of the human embryo at undue risk since only about 1 in 25 embryos created

through IVF survives to birth. Between 1978 and 2002 68,000 IVF babies havebeen born but in the process

1.2 million embryos created by IVF were frozen, destroyed or used in research.
IVF is a multi-million pound industry despite having a failure rate of about 80%. Infertility is big business

despite the emotional distress inflicted on 80% of hopeful couples who go for this treatment and end up

with nothing. IVF has been linked to higher rates of rare childhood cancers and diseases. One study also

found that IVF babies were three times more likely to have cerebral palsy. The IVF industry has led to

children being treated as commodities, or property with couples going to court in legal battles over frozen embryos.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), which licences IVF clinics, has consulted on the

possibility of parents being allowed to choose the sex of their children.
Adult and parental choice is given ultimate priority over the health, development and emotional and psychological welfare of children

Embryo Experimentation

In Britain embryo experimentation involves research carried out on human embryos up to 14
days after conception. The law in Britain requires that all embryos used in research be destroyed.

Where do the embryos come from?
Left-over embryos created in the laboratory forfertility treatment, or embryos specially created
from donor eggs and sperm are used in research, where both parents have given their permission.
Why is embryo experimentation carried out?
In 1990 the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act was passed to allow research on embryos for
the following purposes:

Since 2001 research has also been permitted for:

Has embryo experimentation achieved these goals?
The only major development that has resulted from embryo research into disability is preimplantation
genetic diagnosis (PGD). PGD isused to screen embryos in the laboratory to see if
they are free from genetic or sex-related disability before they are implanted in the womb for
development and birth. Embryos which are not chosen for implantation in the womb are discarded.

Embryo experimentation: Ethical or not?
The life of the human embryo is sacrificed through embryo experimentation in the name
of scientific progress. The humanity of embryos is recognised by scientists. It is by virtue of their humanity

that embryos are considered so valuable. The embryo's humanity is disregarded in embryo experimentation

as he/she is considered expendable and of lesser value than other human individuals.
The human embryo is discriminated against based on his/her size and stage of development.
This discrimination results in the killing of the embryo. The embryo's human rights are not respected even

though the embryo is unquestionably a member of the human family. Each of us was once an embryo,

including the doctors and scientists who experiment on embryos. Supporters of embryo experimentation

say that embryos are not used “frivolously” to find cures for, for example, the common cold but “only” for“serious” conditions. However, if there was a true recognition of the wrongness of experimenting upon

human beings, all embryo research would be banned.
Since 1990 hundreds of thousands of human embryos have been used in research and no significant cures

for disability have been found. Instead techniques such as PGD have been discovered which rather than

preventing disability, result in affected embryos being discarded. Many individuals living with disabilities do

not accept that human lives should be sacrificed in their name. They recognise that their own lives are no

more and no less valuable than those of the embryos destroyed in research. Whatever we do to early

embryos today, others will do to later embryos in the future. Ultimately, vulnerable humans at any stage of

their lives could fall victim to destructive medical research.
There is no essential difference between a 14-day embryo and a 15-day embryo.

Human Clothing

What is human cloning?
Although there have been no confirmed cases of cloned human beings, cloning in theory allows scientists

to create a genetic copy of another human individual. The clone would not be an exact physical copy and

he/she would have his/her own individual personality and unique fingerprints and toeprints in spite of

sharing DNA with the person from whom he/she was cloned.

What it the difference between so-called therapeutic cloning and reproductive cloning?
Both types of cloning are reproductive as they both reproduce human individuals. The only difference is in

the way the cloned individual would be treated. In so-called therapeutic cloning scientists would aim to

create a cloned embryo who is then used in research and destroyed. In reproductive cloning the embryo
would be placed into a woman’s womb and allowed to continue development and be born.

Is human cloning legal?
It is illegal in Britain for a cloned human embryo to be transferred to a woman’s womb. However,

the British government and the courts have approved the creation of cloned human embryos and their use in
destructive stem cell research. Anyone who wishes to carry out human cloning must apply to the Human

Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) for a licence. However, opponents of cloning argue that the

HFEA was never given authority to regulate human cloning. Such research may soon be banned or
restricted by the European Union.

Can the goals of human cloning be achieved?
Recent research suggests that creating cloned embryos who can continue developing or who can provide

functional stem cells may not be possible. It may therefore prove to be impossiblemfor scientists to create

and use cloned embryos in the way that they wish.

Human Cloning: Ethical or not?
Human cloning violates the dignity and respect due to every human individual as it undermines the rights,

identity and welfare of any child created in this way. Human cloning for so-called therapeutic purposes is

completely unethical. Such research creates life with the purpose of destroying it and therefore fails to

respect the right to life of the human embryo. The human embryo in such circumstances is treated as

resource material, rather than as a human individual with inherent dignity and fundamental human rights.
Many people opposed to cloning consider therapeutic cloning to be even more objectionable than

reproductive cloning.
Reproductive cloning at least envisages allowing the embryos to live, whereas therapeutic cloning
means creating embryos in order to destroy them and use their cells.
SPUC Scotland believes that resources should be directed towards adult stem cell research and research
using placental and umbilical cord stem cells.  These alternatives not only avoid the ethical problems inherent

in using human embryos but have also been more successful to date. Most scientists argue against

reproductive human cloning on the grounds that it is not safe. If made safe, some scientists believe it would

be acceptable to use such techniques to help infertile couples. However, even if it was made safe,

reproductive cloning could never be considered ethical. Human reproductive cloning blurs and complicates

human relationships and the parentage of the child created who might have one legal parent, (the person

from whom he/she was cloned) who could also be his/her biological brother or sister since they share

genetic parents. The clone may also have a surrogate mother.
All human cloning is not only dangerous in terms of human health and welfare, it is also totally unethical.