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The Opinion Group of the Observatory on Bioethics and Law of the Barcelona Science Park does not rule out research on embryos fertilised in vitro

September 26, 2000

On the 21st September at 12:00 noon the Document on Research on Human Embryos was officially presented to Barcelona City Hall at a meeting presided over by Vladimir de Semir, from the Barcelona City Hall, in the presence of the Assistant Vice President of the Barcelona Science Park, Marius Rubiralta. During the presentation, the Director of the Observatory on Bioethics and Law, who is also a lecturer at the University of Barcelona, Maria Casado, and the Professor of Cell Biology at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Josep Egozcue, published the conclusions of the Opinion Group, which they co-ordinate and which was responsible for the document.

While last August the British government approved the cloning of human embryos for therapeutic purposes, at the beginning of September the European Parliament rejected by a small margin any type of experiment on human embryos, irrespective of the purpose, describing it as “contrary to human dignity”. Although public discussion about research on human embryos has only just begun, there is a wide debate among experts that there is a pressing need for norms, not only juridical, but also ethical and deonotological to regulate their use.

The Document on Research on Human Embryos, drawn up by The Opinion Group of the Observatory on Bioethics and Law aims to provide information and various points of view, both as a contribution to public debate and to provide guidelines for the administrator and the legislator with a view to possible modification of the law in this country.

The study group reached the following conclusions:
Research on embryos fertilised in vitro should not be ruled out. Such research should be permitted on the condition that an ad hoc committee justify and approve it, so long as the donors of the gametes or embryos have given their consent, as indicated below:

1. With surplus embryos from assited reproduction processes with the consent of the persons involved in the repoductive project.
2. With embryos created expressly for research into pathologies suffered by the donor couples.
3. With embryos created from gametes donated for research purposes and not in connection with any reproductive project.
4. With somatic embryos obtained by cloning.

The production of this document was funded by the Fundaci'³ M™ Francesca Roviralta, and received the support of Barcelona City Hall. It was drawn up by The Opinion Group of the Observatory on Bioethics and Law following a series of meetings with experts in various disciplines from several Spanish Universities. The document, which lists the scientific, ethical, juridical and social implications of research on human embryos, will be sent to public administrations, public research organisations and those involved in changing the law.

The Observatory on Bioethics and Law is advised by specialists from various universities, hospitals and institutions in the world of law, philosophy and health, who collaborate in the creation of a forum for discussion and reflection on the ethical dilemmas produced by contemporary science. In addition to its research on the ethical, legal and social problems associated with research on human embryos, the observatory also examines other areas such as the concepts of bio-ethics, human rights, the aims of medicine, the ethico-juridical repercussions of the identification of the genes responsible for Alzheimer’s disease or the privacy and confidentiality of genetic information and clinical records, among others.

The Document is reproduced in full at http://www.pcb.ub.es . If you need it in English please write to rmalagrida@pcb.ub.es

Barcelona Science Park