"HUMANIST ACADEMY" APPEAL
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Next group meeting: FRIDAY 4th July

Evening walk and pub meal

6pm at Broughton Arms, Rode Heath

BHA NEWS

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill

The BHA has produced a briefing for MPs, which outlines the aims of the Bill, and counters the scaremongering arguments against the Bill based on religious dogma and misinformation. You can read the briefing here. It will be circulated to them prior to the eventual vote on the Bill when Parliament returns from its recess.

The BHA supports the Bill, which aims to update the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 in light of medical and scientific developments and to maintain the tightly regulated environment for embryo research. Provisions in the HFE Bill would also prevent discrimination against lesbian couples seeking fertility treatment and ban sex selection of embryos except for serious medical reasons.

We believe that ethical considerations in relation to the Bill should be based on its potential for alleviating the suffering of real people and future generations, and we reject attempts to prevent vital, life-saving and life-enhancing research on the basis of irrational beliefs.

In addition, some MPs plan to make amendments to the HFE Bill which will attack women's abortion rights - particularly the 24 week abortion time limit. If successful, this attack would be devastating for a small number of women in difficult, unforeseeable and individual circumstances and would encourage further anti-abortion attacks. Already, further attacks are being lined up including on the grounds for abortion and to impose biased 'counselling' on all women seeking an abortion. Contrary to anti-abortion hype, research shows there has been no increase in survival rates for babies born before 24 weeks gestation.

There is broad opposition to any lowering of the legal time limit including from MPs from all three major parties, from the cross-party Science and Technology Committee, the British Medical Association, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Department of Health, as well as from trade unions, and student and women's organisations. You can read more at www.abortionrights.org.uk. You can sign an e-petition to protect the 24 week time limit at http://tinyurl.com/4hdpgl.

You can help the BHA support the HFE Bill, and help to ensure that MPs reject scaremongering and dogma in favour of rational debate, by emailing your MP directly here. Alternatively, you can write to your MP at ‘House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA’ or try to visit her/him at the constituency office, or attend any public meetings in your constituency that may be organised.

You can see the BHA’s Andrew Copson, Director of Education and Public Affairs, expertly arguing our position on BBC News 24 on our website at http://tinyurl.com/2az7tt.

You can read more information about the Bill at http://tinyurl.com/27kjc3, from organisations such as the British Medical Association and the Medical Research Council, from patient charities such as the Parkinson’s Disease Society and from www.passionforreason.org.

You can also support the Bill by joining the ‘Passion for Reason’ Facebook group at: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=8197623479, and petition the Prime Minister to support the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/supportHFEB/.

Thank you for your support! For more information, please contact Naomi Phillips, BHA Public Affairs Officer, at naomi@humanism.org.uk.

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