THE CHAIRWOMAN of the Irish Council for Bioethics strongly criticised the Government yesterday for failing to introduce regulations governing stem cell research involving human embryos.
Another senior member of the council stressed that its finding that it would not object "in principle" to the creation of human-animal hybrid cell lines at some point in the future, would not lead to the creation of so called "mythological" human-animal creatures.
Speaking at the publication of its report into the ethics of stem cell research, council chairwoman Dr Dolores Dooley said it was "difficult to overstate my position with relation to the inactivity from the Government".
Despite the fact that a 2005 report by the government-appointed Commission on Assisted Human Reproduction (CAHR) had advocated that a regulatory authority be set up - a recommendation repeated in yesterday's report - Dr Dooley said it was "technically not against the law to do embryonic stem cell research in Ireland".
Dr Dooley, who previously sat on the CAHR, said that the Government was aware of the complexities - and controversy - surrounding the issue. As a result, she called for representatives to show "political courage".
"One gets the feeling that they are concerned about their political profile," she told The Irish Times. "They are concerned about what the public will think. In fact, the interests of the public are only being harmed by the lack of regulation."
Asked whether Minister for Health Mary Harney supported the establishment of an independent regulatory agency, and for an update on the progress of proposals in this regard, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health said: "The Department's position is that the report and recommendations will be considered as part of our current work in developing a legal framework for assisted human reproduction and related practices and procedures."
In a key finding, the council's report says no distinction should be made between the moral status of an IVF embryo and that of a "cloned" embryo.
The report also opposes the "patenting" of embryonic stem cells and suggests that consideration be given to the establishment of a public model of umbilical cord blood banking.
Elsewhere, it advocates the use of embryonic stem cell research in the State in certain situations. It says that where "supernumerary embryos" are created during IVF, these may be used for research.
However, the report stops short of supporting the creation of embryos specifically for the purposes of research, which it says is not "currently justified" while supernumerary IVF embryos already exist.
It argues that the creation of human-animal hybrid cell lines - which would arise only if a future decision was first taken to allow embryos to be created specifically for research - would "obviate concerns relating to coercion and exploitation of women".
Asked about concerns raised in this regard, Prof Andrew Green, a member of the council's rapporteur group on stem cell research, said it was only referring to a very limited technique that in "no way" could lead to the creation of what people might call "centaurs".
"That is mythological and will remain so," he said.
Under the strictly limited form of "cytoplasmic human animal hybrids" referred to by the council, human DNA is injected into empty eggs from animals such as sheep or cows.
In turn, this creates embryos where "99.9 per cent of all the genes are actually going to be human", he said.