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| Church condemns lesbian IVF use | Church condemns lesbian IVF use |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| The leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales has condemned plans to make it easier for lesbian couples to use IVF to become parents. | The leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales has condemned plans to make it easier for lesbian couples to use IVF to become parents. |
| In a Times letter, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor said the plans were "profoundly wrong" and undermined "the place of the father in a child's life". | In a Times letter, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor said the plans were "profoundly wrong" and undermined "the place of the father in a child's life". |
| But campaign group Stonewall said the move was a "logical and timely step". | But campaign group Stonewall said the move was a "logical and timely step". |
| The measures are contained in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, being debated in the Lords later. | The measures are contained in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, being debated in the Lords later. |
| The Bill includes recognition of same-sex couples as legal parents and would remove the current requirement on IVF clinics to be sure that a father is involved in the upbringing of any child created after he donates sperm. | |
| MPs have previously called for an end to the right of fertility clinics to refuse treatment to single women and lesbians. | MPs have previously called for an end to the right of fertility clinics to refuse treatment to single women and lesbians. |
| This radically undermines the place of the father in a child's life Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor | This radically undermines the place of the father in a child's life Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor |
| Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor wrote: "The bill proposes to remove the need for IVF providers to take into account the child's need for a father when considering an IVF application and to confer legal parenthood on people who have no biological relationship to a child born as a result of IVF. | |
| "This radically undermines the place of the father in a child's life, and makes the natural rights of the child subordinate to the desires of the couple. It is profoundly wrong." | |
| 'Logical step' | |
| But Ruth Hunt, of gay rights campaign group Stonewall, said the plans did not involve "denigrating the principle of fatherhood". | But Ruth Hunt, of gay rights campaign group Stonewall, said the plans did not involve "denigrating the principle of fatherhood". |
| "This is a very logical and timely step to ensure that a child can have two parents from the moment of conception and that is safeguarded throughout their upbringing," she said. | "This is a very logical and timely step to ensure that a child can have two parents from the moment of conception and that is safeguarded throughout their upbringing," she said. |
| Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor has called on the government to allow Labour members in both houses to have a free vote on the issue - as opposition members already do. | Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor has called on the government to allow Labour members in both houses to have a free vote on the issue - as opposition members already do. |
| Family campaigners are also stepping up their opposition to the Bill, with former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith warning it would be a "nail in the coffin" of the traditional family and "another blow" against fatherhood. | |
| Hybrid embryos | |
| Stonewall dismissed his concerns, saying that, at a time when three million children were growing up in single parent households in the UK, it would give more children the chance of a two-parent home. | |
| The Bill would also open the door to experiments involving human-animal hybrid embryos, including "cytoplasmic" embryos, which are 99.9% human, and "true hybrids", carrying both human and animal genes. | |
| In addition, "chimeras" made of a mosaic-like mix of cells from different species, and "human transgenic embryos" - human embryos modified with animal DNA - will be allowed under licence. | |
| It also includes a ban on sex-selection for non-medical reasons. | |
| Both pro-choice and anti-abortion campaigners are likely to use the Bill to try to change the law on abortions. |