Embryology Bill delayed as peer collapses

|PIC1|The debate in the House of Lords on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill was unexpectedly adjourned on Monday after a Labour peer speaking in the debate collapsed in the chamber.

Lord Brennan, 65, collapsed soon after giving his speech during the debate on the Bill. According to the BBC, he was given a heart massage on the scene by Health minister, Lord Darzi who is a surgeon.

He was taken to Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital, which stated that "Lord Brennan was admitted to the accident and emergency department at 8.43pm and his condition is stable".

Lord Brennan is a QC and was chairman of the Bar Council in 1999. He is currently the Home Office's independent assessor on miscarriages of justice.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill has raised opposition from Christian and pro-life groups such as the Lawyers Christian Fellowship (LCF) and Comment on Reproductive Ethics (CORE).

The Bill, if passed, would make the creation of human-animal hybrid embryos legal, and would allow the conferring of legal "parenthood" on couples undergoing assisted reproduction, including same-sex couples or people who have no biological relationship with the child.

In addition the Bill could open up the abortion debate and so provide an opportunity for pro-choice groups to seek further liberalisation of abortion law in the UK.

Last week, the LCF described the Bill and the philosophy behind it as "nothing less than the deconstruction of the traditional family and a radical change in what it means to be human". They also called it a "dangerous experiment which puts the interests of the children affected at risk".

Speaking in the debate, Lord Brennan said, "Human reproductive cloning must remain illegal."

The debate is scheduled to resume on Wednesday.