Members of Parliament have voted in favor of making Britain the first country in the world to permit IVF babies to be created using biological material from three different people to help prevent serious genetic diseases.
In a historic debate, the House of Commons voted by 382 to 128 — a majority of 254 — to allow mitochondrial donation through a controversial amendment to the 2008 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act.
They approved the regulation in spite of some critics warning it was a step toward creating “three-parent” designer babies.
The regulations now have to be approved in the House of Lords, where they are likely to be passed.
MPs were allowed a free vote on the issue of conscience, but both the Conservative and Labour frontbenches made it clear they believed it was an important scientific step forward that did not amount to genetic modification.
British Minister for Public Health Jane Ellison told MPs the techniques provided in the regulations offer the only hope for some women who carry the disease to have “healthy, genetically related children” who would not suffer from the “devastating and often fatal consequences” of mitochondrial disease.
She said mitochondrial DNA is 0.054 percent of a person’s overall DNA and none of the nuclear DNA which determines personal characteristics and traits.
Critics of the motion had been given hope of defeating it after the Church of England and the Catholic Church in England and Wales said it was not yet clear that the technique was safe or ethical.
Opposition was led by Conservative MP Fiona Bruce, who said parliament needed more time to debate the issues.
“I believe the regulations before us today fail on both counts, ethics and safety, and they are inextricably interlinked,” she said. “One of these procedures we are asked to approve today, pronuclear transfer, involves the deliberate creation and destruction of at least two human embryos, and probably in practice many more, in order to create a third embryo which it is hoped will be free from human mitochondrial disease. Are we happy to sacrifice two early human lives to make a third?”
Several other MPs objected to the shortness of the 90-minute period for debate, saying a subject of such ethical controversy should be given more time for consideration.
However, Ellison said mitochondrial donation has been subject to extensive scrutiny for years and it was now time for MPs to vote.
Science and Technology Committee Chairman Andrew Miller, a Labour member, urged his colleagues to back the “overwhelming interest” of those families who have suffered from mitochondrial disease.
“I put it to this House that the benefits to those — about 2,500 families — affected by mitochondrial disease up and down this nation, they deserve the support of this House because of the potential benefits,” he said. “Yes, of course, we’ve got to assess the risks as we do with all risks, but they’ve got to be done in a rational and balanced way.”
Mitochondrial diseases are caused by genetic faults in the DNA of tiny structures that provide power for the body’s cells. The DNA is held separately to the 20,000 genes that influence a person’s identity, such as their looks and personality. Because mothers alone pass mitochondria on to children, the diseases are only passed down the maternal line.
Kehinde Sanni spends his days smoothing out dents and repainting scratched bumpers in a modest autobody shop in Lagos. He has never left Nigeria, yet he speaks glowingly of Burkina Faso military leader Ibrahim Traore. “Nigeria needs someone like Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso. He is doing well for his country,” Sanni said. His admiration is shaped by a steady stream of viral videos, memes and social media posts — many misleading or outright false — portraying Traore as a fearless reformer who defied Western powers and reclaimed his country’s dignity. The Burkinabe strongman swept into power following a coup in September 2022
‘FRAGMENTING’: British politics have for a long time been dominated by the Labor Party and the Tories, but polls suggest that Reform now poses a significant challenge Hard-right upstarts Reform UK snatched a parliamentary seat from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labor Party yesterday in local elections that dealt a blow to the UK’s two establishment parties. Reform, led by anti-immigrant firebrand Nigel Farage, won the by-election in Runcorn and Helsby in northwest England by just six votes, as it picked up gains in other localities, including one mayoralty. The group’s strong showing continues momentum it built up at last year’s general election and appears to confirm a trend that the UK is entering an era of multi-party politics. “For the movement, for the party it’s a very, very big
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
SUPPORT: The Australian prime minister promised to back Kyiv against Russia’s invasion, saying: ‘That’s my government’s position. It was yesterday. It still is’ Left-leaning Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday basked in his landslide election win, promising a “disciplined, orderly” government to confront cost-of-living pain and tariff turmoil. People clapped as the 62-year-old and his fiancee, Jodie Haydon, who visited his old inner Sydney haunt, Cafe Italia, surrounded by a crowd of jostling photographers and journalists. Albanese’s Labor Party is on course to win at least 83 seats in the 150-member parliament, partial results showed. Opposition leader Peter Dutton’s conservative Liberal-National coalition had just 38 seats, and other parties 12. Another 17 seats were still in doubt. “We will be a disciplined, orderly
RSS