Contribution
My Lords, this debate has consisted of highs and lows. One high, of course, is that it is wonderful that the House of Lords has so many world experts on infertility ready to speak today and contribute their knowledge. That is what we are all about. The lows I am coming to.
I can pick out only a few comments in the limited time left. The noble Lord, Lord Winston, quite rightly pointed out that there are underlying causes of infertility, but time is of the essence. When women are in their 30s or late 30s, there is not time to queue for medical investigations that could take years. The practice of IVF, including freezing eggs, has brought happiness to so many and should not be overlooked. This is an area where there are great disappointments but also great happinesses, and we should not overlook that.
I have been invited all over the world to speak about the virtues of regulation, in particular in the United States, which is regarded as the Wild West of this area. There, things go terribly wrong, because, as you would expect, autonomy and no interference is the theme there, leading many women to fall into severe traps and malpractice. From my limited global experience, I know that the HFEA and its model of regulation was widely admired and indeed copied. When they cut me open when I am gone, they will find “Dolly the sheep” carved on my heart, because, under my watch, the Scots made that terrific breakthrough that led to the use of stem cells. Because the HFEA was supervising that and being cautious, we have been able to advance with that treatment and research, and that is something we should be very proud of indeed.
How wonderful it is that a Bishop in our House should have had that experience. I was privileged to work with two outstanding bishops at the HFEA: Bishop Richard Holloway, who I am glad to say is still with us, a man of great heart and compassion, and, of course, the sorely missed Richard Harries was able to contribute. There was nobody better than him. How much we miss his voice in all areas of life.
On the issue of plastics, all I can say is that it is certainly worth looking at. I have had my own argument with Optrex—I am sure noble Lords all know Optrex—about glass bottles now being replaced by plastic. I wrote to ask why I should introduce plastic into my eyes. Of course, I got no reply, even though many other people objected as well.
The noble Baronesses, Lady Shawcross-Wolfson and Lady Pidgeon, and others mentioned surrogacy. There are great reservations about the practice of surrogacy. We must take this very cautiously, although it has of course brought joy to some people.
The Minister’s response is disappointing. I can see that she and no doubt her staff have taken all this into account, but time is of the essence, as I have said before. I call once more on the Government to get going and to set up a Select Committee and produce a draft Bill, which is what happened the last time the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act was revised. It takes time but, if they do not start now, we will never get around to it. The Government need to draw on the expertise that was so evident in this House today. In future years, we may not have such a wealth of expertise. Now is the time to get going. It might well take some years, but the Government really need to set up that Select Committee and do the legislative scrutiny right now.
Let me end on a note of joy, because there has not been much of that. To serve on the HFEA was a joy and the privilege of my life. People of my generation thought we were clever in not conceiving. That was the big issue—it never crossed my mind that there were fertility issues. I learned that there were and how painful they were. To see the joy of people who have managed to have families, such as the right reverend Prelate and others I could mention, thanks to the expertise of the noble Lord, Lord Winston, and others was very special.
We are told that we live in a country where there are not enough babies. The HFEA is helping people to produce those much-wanted babies and I wish it well. It was a great privilege to serve. At the time, there were ethical considerations. As members, we had a bishop, a rabbi and an actress—you could not have a broader spread of input than that—and it all worked very well, with great results. I end by pleading with the Minister to get on with legislative reform for the sake of our health, growth in families and the joy of would-be parents.