15 Morningside Road, Edinburgh EH10 4DP, Tel: 0131 447 6394 or 0774 298 4459
The Scottish Council on Human Bioethics is very concerned that bioethical tourism, which enables persons to go to abroad in order to bypass the bioethical laws in their homeland, is just the beginning of a trend.
The example whereby the Whitaker's went to an American clinic for IVF treatment because the specific selection procedure was not allowed in the UK is confirmation that people are "shopping around" for the bioethical legislation which best suites them.
And international "Death Tourism" whereby people are going to Switzerland in order to die through assisted suicide is just another example. Indeed, the Swiss authorities have already voiced their anxiety that their country might become an international centre for people wishing to take their own lives.
The Scottish Council on Human Bioethics (SCHB) is extremely worried about these developments which confirm how easily it is to bypass the bioethical laws established to regulate the very important area of assisted reproduction.
Dr. Calum MacKellar, Director of Research of the SCHB, indicated that "either the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority or the UK government should immediately initiate a study concerning bioethical tourism and propose solutions to address these concerns" adding that "if this problem of persons going abroad to bypass UK law is not addressed, legislation in the UK would be undermined".
Note: The Scottish Council on Human Bioethics was formed in 1997 as an independent, non-partisan council composed of physicians, lawyers, psychologists, ethicists and other professionals from disciplines associated with medical ethics. The principles to which the SCHB subscribes are set out in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted and proclaimed by the UN General Assembly by resolution 217A (III) on 10 December 1948.
Contact: Dr. Calum MacKellar, Scottish Council on Human Bioethics, Eric Liddell Centre, 15 Morningside Road, Edinburgh EH10 4DP, Tel: 0131 447 6394, E-mail (provisional): schb@mail.com