Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill (2007)
Before the reintroduction of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill (2007) into the House of Lords on 29th October 2008, Archbishop Peter Smith has released the following statement
Statement from Archbishop Peter Smith on the HFE Bill (3rd reading)
Read the Bill (Progress of the Bill including links to debates)
What's the Church's response?
On 25 September 2008, Archbishop Peter Smith, Chair of the Department of Christian Responsibility and Citizenship of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales wrote to parish priests highlighting the key issues surrounding the forthcoming third reading of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill. A two-page parish leaflet was included for further guidance.
HFE letter from Archbishop Peter Smith to parish priests (25 Sept 08)
Podcast
In this special podcast, Archbishop Peter Smith speaks to the Catholic Communications Network about the potential changes to abortion legislation ahead of the third reading of the HFE Bill in the House of Commons.
Archbishop Peter Smith on the third reading of the HFE Bill (mp3)
Video: HFE debate
On Friday 16 May, Scientists, ethicists, heads of medical charities and religious leaders gathered at the Wellcome Collection in London to discuss the complex ethical issues that lie at the heart of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill.
The discussion lasted two hours and can be viewed online:
Click here to watch the discussion in full.
Click here to read the press release on the discussion.
Petition to support the right to life in Northern Ireland
A petition has been posted on the no10.gov.uk website to call on Prime Minister Gordon Brown to deny any extension planned for the 1967 Abortion Act to Northern Ireland.
Click for the petitions site to sign the petition electronically.
Earlier briefings
In December 2007, detailed briefing packs were sent out to the parishes of England and Wales with a covering letter from Archbishop Peter Smith, Archbishop of Cardiff:
Covering letter from Archbishop Smith to parish priests
One-page parish briefing document
HFE parish briefing pack: supporting weblinks
Joint submission on the Human Tissue and Embryos (draft) Bill
This document was put together jointly by the Linacre Centre for Healthcare Ethics and the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales (July 2007).
How do I act?
You can write to your MP either by post or by email:
To find out the name of your local MP, visit the parliament.uk website.
You can email your local MP through the writetothem.com website.
MPs write to Prime Minister Gordon Brown about the HFE Bill
Jim Dobbin MP, the Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Pro-Life Group and five other Labour MPs have written an open letter to the Prime Minister expressing concern about his understanding of the detail of the bill. Read more here.
Alive and Kicking
Alive and Kicking is an alliance that has been created to defend human rights at the beginning of life in an effort to make abortion rare.
The 20 weeks campaign
Nadine Dorries MP launched the official parliamentary campaign to reduce the upper limit for abortion from 24 weeks to 20 weeks in May 2008.
Nadine was supported by consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Vincent Argent, former medical Director of BPAS, and Dr Peter Saunders, General Secretary of the Christian Medical Fellowship. Ultrasound pioneer Professor Stuart Campbell also backed her campaign.
Although parliament voted against reducing the upper limit, you can still find a briefing paper, '20 Reasons for 20 Weeks' (outlining the case for cutting the present 24-week limit to 20 weeks) on the link below.
Visit: www.the20weekscampaign.org
News:
Sunday 25 May 08
Bishop of Lancaster expresses his sadness after the second reading of the HFE Bill in the House of Commons
The Rt Rev Patrick O'Donoghue, Bishop of Lancaster expresses his sadness after listening to the second reading of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill and the votes on proposed amendments in the House of Commons.
Sunday 18 May 08
Catholic leaders back adult stem cell research with grant
The presidents of the Catholic Bishops’ conferences of England & Wales, Scotland and Ireland today announced the award of a £25,000 grant, funded from a special Day for Life collection, as a sign of their support for adult stem cell research in the UK. Click here for more...
Friday 16 May 08
Missing the meaning: Professor David Jones's response to BMJ article "Can a cell have a Soul?"
Prof. David Jones responds to an article by Prof John Burn in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) called "Can a Cell have a Soul?"
Click here to view full article: http://press.psprings.co.uk/bmj/may/pv1132.pdf
Monday 12 May 08
An Ethical Look at Human-Animal Embryos
Click on the link above to read Prof. David Jones' article on the HFE Bill as it passes through the House of Commons. David Albert Jones is Professor of Bioethics at St Mary’s University College, Twickenham.
Tuesday 25 March 08
Statement from Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor and Archbishop Peter Smith on the HFE Bill
Tuesday 25 March 08
Embryo Bill - statement from Archbishop Vincent Nichols
Monday 24 March 08
"The present position of the Labour government on key moral issues is disturbing" - says Archbishop Vincent Nichols
Broadcast over Easter weekend
Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor on Sky News
In an interview with Sky News, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor has said that MPs should be allowed a free vote on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill.
Monday 24 March 08
Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor in The Guardian
“Freedom is not simply a capacity to do whatever we want, when we want, as we want: that benefits only the fittest and the most powerful. Nor is freedom just a political or social construct. It belongs to our essence as moral persons, and cannot be divorced from our purpose as human beings. It carries with it a deep responsibility for others and for the world in which we live. Only the cultivation of such a moral solidarity will galvanise the political will needed to confront the emerging global environmental crisis. A society that does not see this, that makes absolute individual autonomy, does not guarantee our freedom. It destroys it. It is in this spirit, too, that I have called for MPs to be given a free vote on the human fertilisation and embryology bill.”
Monday 24 March 08
Archbishop Peter Smith, Archbishop of Cardiff refutes accusations on Human Fertilisation Bill
Archbishop Peter Smith has refuted claims that Catholic Bishops had been misleading people on the HFE Bill. He called for a genuine debate on those issues in the Bill which go to the heart of what it means to be human and for all MPs to be given a free vote.
Sunday 23 March 08
Archbishop of Liverpool urges a ‘yes to life’ in Easter Sermon
In his Easter sermon the Most Reverend Patrick Kelly, Archbishop of Liverpool, backed Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor in the debate over the Embryology Bill.
Speaking at the Solemn Mass of Easter Day in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King, Liverpool, the Archbishop said:
“That freedom we now proclaim by renewing those promises, that echo the day when in the waters of baptism we were born again to become children of God. a yes to life; a yes to life fittingly spelt out by Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor and Cardinal Keith O'Brien this Easter; a yes to the Holy Spirit in our hearts; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
Easter homily preached by the Most Reverend Patrick Kelly, Archbishop of Liverpool
Sunday 23 March 08
In his Easter Vigil homily, the Rt Rev Patrick O'Donoghue, Bishop of Lancaster spoke out against the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill:
"All right thinking people will agree that we must seek to discover cures for diseases that cause so much human suffering. But compassion cannot result in us exploiting and destroying the life of unborn human beings."
Easter Vigil Homily preached by Bishop Patrick O'Donoghue, Bishop of Lancaster
19 February 08
Now is the time for our voices to be heard on Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, says Cardinal
20 December 07
Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill Parish Resource Pack
20 December 07
Majority of Peers oppose use of human embryos; Lord Alton calls for Hunt Test to be put into law
30 November 07
Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill