A conference organised by the Progress Educational Trust (PET)

The Human Tissue and Embryos (Draft) Bill, published in May 2007, is intended to revise and supersede the earlier Human Fertilisation and Embryology 1990 Act in light of developments in science and society. But even in draft form, the Bill has elicited heated disagreements over such issues as the use of hybrid embryos in stem cell research, the regulation of embryo testing, and the terms on which fertility treatment should be made available. This one-day conference will examine the past, present and future of each of these areas to explore the consequences of the forthcoming legislation.

9.30am
Registration and refreshments

Chair of morning sessions:
RUTH DEECH (UK Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education, former chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority)

10am
BACKGROUND: THE HUMAN TISSUE AND EMBRYOS BILL
PHIL WILLIS (Liberal Democrat MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough and chair of the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee)
Followed by questions from the floor

11am
INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES AND ‘REPRODUCTIVE TOURISM’
JAMES LAWFORD-DAVIES (senior associate at Clifford Chance and lecturer at Newcastle University)
MAUREEN McTEER (adjunct professor of medical law at the University of Ottawa)
Followed by questions from the floor

12midday
Lunch

Chair of afternoon sessions:
ALISON MURDOCH (professor and head of reproductive medicine at Newcastle University)

1pm
MEANS, ENDS, COMMODITIES OR GIFTS: THE ETHICS OF CHOOSING CHILDREN
TOM SHAKESPEARE (research fellow at the Institute for Policy and Practice at Newcastle University)
Followed by questions from the floor

2pm
THERAPEUTIC AND RESEARCH APPLICATIONS OF HUMAN STEM CELLS
STEPHEN MINGER (senior lecturer and director of King’s Stem Cell Biology Laboratory at Kings College London)
Followed by questions from the floor

3pm
Break

3.30pm
SHOULD WE RELAX CONFIDENTIALITY RESTRICTIONS FOR MORE THAN JUST RESEARCH?
JOHN PARSONS (consultant obstetrician, gynaecologist and director of the Assisted Conception Unit at Kings College Hospital)
Followed by questions from the floor

4.30pm
‘IF YOU MUCK ABOUT WITH A BIRTH CERTIFICATE, YOU ARE LABELLING A CHILD AS A SECOND CLASS PERSON’: THE POLITICS OF DONOR CONCEPTION AND BIRTH REGISTRATION
ERIC BLYTH (professor of social work at the University of Huddersfield)
Followed by questions from the floor

5.30pm
Close

Registration required:

Yes

Free:

No