Madam, – A few weeks ago the Supreme Court interpreted Article 40.3.3. of the Constitution to the effect that the term “unborn” applies only to embryos in utero. That decision raises critical ethical questions concerning the nature and moral status of embryos in vitro; the question of how respect can be given to those embryos, as well as questions of regulation in the area of assisted human reproduction. The judges of the Supreme Court also indicated where responsibility for those decisions lay – with the Oireachtas.
The Oireachtas had at hand a body of expertise in the Irish Council for Bioethics to enable it to draft speedily the kind of legislation that is so urgently needed in biomedicine. However, rather than proceed with drafting that long-overdue legislation, the current Government chose to disband the council with effect from the end of 2009. The Government’s thinking seems to be: “When you are in a moral and legislative hole, dig the hole deeper.
What a bleak beginning for the New Year. – Yours, etc,