20 September 2007

Event: Progess Educational Trust

On 1 November 2007, Progress Educational Trust presents a London conference titled ‘Reproducing Regulation: New laws for fertility treatment and embryo research - will we get it right?’

Time and place

9.30am-5.30pm, 1 November 2007

Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford St, London WC1N 1EH. See here for a map.

Programme

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

  • 12 midday 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

    Cost (Including refreshments and buffet lunch): £120
    Concessions (for those not requiring an invoice): students £30, Friends of PET £60 (ask when booking about becoming a Friend of PET), others £90

    Bookings and enquiries: Call 020 7278 7870, email

    Send cheques (payable to Progress Educational Trust) to: Events, Progress Educational Trust, 140 Gray’s Inn Road, London WC1X 8AX