Allowances must be made for scientific development and changes in social mores when legislation governing assisted human reproduction is brought before the Oireachtas, the conference was told.
In a paper on the regulation of assisted human reproduction, Prof Robert Harrison of the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology said the Oireachtas must take into account the mistakes made elsewhere in the area of control of assisted reproductive technologies (ART).
Prof Harrison said that although the present methods of governance of assisted reproduction at national level appeared to work, it had been the consensus of institute members for some time that this was unsustainable in the long term and that change was needed.
Referring to the governance of services in different clinics in the Republic, he said this depended on how each clinic was established and who exerted overall control. "As I understand it," he said, "except for the Human Assisted Reproduction Unit in the Rotunda, all other Irish ART units stand alone."
He noted that they appeared to be self-governing and self-insured. "They appear to provide whatever service they wish without the need to consult and gain the initial approval of a Department of Health recognised/elected governing body".
Prof Harrison outlined changes made since 1984 to the Medical Council Guide to Ethical Conduct and Behaviour in the area of reproductive health. These initially recommended that in-vitro fertilisation be offered to married couples, while simultaneously approving the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology's professional guidelines.
The latest ethics guide states that "the creation of new forms of life for experimental purposes, or the deliberate and intentional destruction of human life already formed, is professional misconduct".
In effect, the "national regulation" of human-assisted reproduction in the Republic since 1989 has been through these Medical Council guidelines, Prof Harrison told the conference.