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| 'Three-parent babies': Britain votes strongly in favour of law change | 'Three-parent babies': Britain votes strongly in favour of law change |
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| Britain is set to become the first country in the world to pass a law making it legal for the creation of so-called “three parent” IVF babies after the House of Commons voted overwhelmingly in favour of the controversial technique of mitochondrial donation. | Britain is set to become the first country in the world to pass a law making it legal for the creation of so-called “three parent” IVF babies after the House of Commons voted overwhelmingly in favour of the controversial technique of mitochondrial donation. |
| During a 90 minute debate on the floor of the house, MPs on both sides of the chamber spoke passionately in favour of the process of combining the DNA of three people into one embryo in order to allow women carrying mitochondrial disorders to have healthy children. | During a 90 minute debate on the floor of the house, MPs on both sides of the chamber spoke passionately in favour of the process of combining the DNA of three people into one embryo in order to allow women carrying mitochondrial disorders to have healthy children. |
| Following the division at the end of the debate, 382 MPs voted in favour of an amendment making the technique legal, with 128 voting against – a majority of 254, which was bigger than expected. | Following the division at the end of the debate, 382 MPs voted in favour of an amendment making the technique legal, with 128 voting against – a majority of 254, which was bigger than expected. |
| The regulations will now to passed to the House of Lords which is expected to give is approval within the next two weeks. The law allowing the licensing of mitochondrial donation will then come into effect in October, opening the way for the first licence to be issued later this year and the first birth of a three-parent baby in 2015. | The regulations will now to passed to the House of Lords which is expected to give is approval within the next two weeks. The law allowing the licensing of mitochondrial donation will then come into effect in October, opening the way for the first licence to be issued later this year and the first birth of a three-parent baby in 2015. |
| A senior science adviser warned at the end of last year that plans to allow the creation of so-called 'three-parent' in vitro fertilisation (IVF) babies were premature because of unresolved safety concerns about the future health of the children | |
| The health minister Jane Ellison told the House that mitochondrial donation is like changing the battery pack of the cells with a new set of batteries and emphasised that it will not lead to the slippery slope of genetically modified “designer babies” with enhanced traits. | The health minister Jane Ellison told the House that mitochondrial donation is like changing the battery pack of the cells with a new set of batteries and emphasised that it will not lead to the slippery slope of genetically modified “designer babies” with enhanced traits. |
| “These regulations can only be applied to severe mitochondrial diseases. This is not a slippery slope,” Ms Ellison told MPs at the end of the debate. | “These regulations can only be applied to severe mitochondrial diseases. This is not a slippery slope,” Ms Ellison told MPs at the end of the debate. |
| “For many families affected this is the light at the end of the tunnel,” she said. | “For many families affected this is the light at the end of the tunnel,” she said. |
| About 2,500 women of child-bearing age in Britain are thought to be at risk of passing on mitochondrial disorders to their children. Scientists at Newcastle University, which already has a licence for research on IVF embryos using a technique for mitochondrial donation, said they expect to apply for a clinical licence later this year. | About 2,500 women of child-bearing age in Britain are thought to be at risk of passing on mitochondrial disorders to their children. Scientists at Newcastle University, which already has a licence for research on IVF embryos using a technique for mitochondrial donation, said they expect to apply for a clinical licence later this year. |