Bid to stop North embryo studies fails
Dec 10 2008 by Jon Tunney, The Journal
CHRISTIAN campaigners have lost their High Court challenge over Newcastle researchers being allowed to create human-animal embryos.
The Christian Legal Centre (CLC) and Comment on Reproductive Ethics (Core) were refused permission to bring a test case judicial review.
Mrs Justice Dobbs, at the High Court in London, ruled the application was “totally without merit”.
The campaigners wanted to overturn a decision of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) last January which granted research licences to scientists at Newcastle University and King’s College London.
Supporters of inter-species research say their work could one day help to treat serious diseases, including cancer and HIV/Aids.
Lawyers for the campaigners argued that the HFEA had acted irrationally and outside its powers.
But the judge ruled their challenge was unarguable and that it was Parliament’s will such research should be licensed.
The research under attack involves the creation of hybrid embryos by inserting the nucleus of a human cell into an animal egg. This enables scientists to create embryos for research, including stem cell development, to benefit humans without using expensive and scarce human eggs.
Luke Parsons QC, for CLC and Core, argued the 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act did not allow licensing of human-animal hybrid embryos and prohibited their creation. He accused the HFEA of acting irrationally when it granted the licences because the proposed research lacked scientific merit and was “irrational and useless”.
But the judge said the HFEA had acted within its powers and its decision was not open to challenge. She said the case was about cutting-edge science, which was developing quickly and it was not for the courts to question the merits of a decision based on expert scientific evidence.
She said the 2008 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill had superseded the 1990 Act, so to make rulings under the old law would be “totally without merit and contrary to good administration”.
Outside court, CLC spokeswoman Andrea Minichiello Williams said: “This is a sad day for justice in this country. We see a public interest body, with little funds and no other way of challenging matters of huge ethical and legal importance, being penalised with a £20,000 costs bill.
“The decisions of scientists will become unimpeachable. Our challenge today will resonate with many members of the public who are concerned about the speed of science and shocked by the crossing of boundaries.
“They feel helpless and don’t know how to make their point of view known. It seems there is no limit, except the limit set by science.”
Dr Lyle Armstrong, of the Institute of Human Genetics at Newcastle University, said: “Today’s decision by Mrs Justice Dobbs supports this important work which allows us to study hybrid embryos in the lab.
“This work will help us understand how stem cells develop into different tissues in the body and develop our understanding of debilitating conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and strokes.”
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