Council of Europe, Parliamentary Assembly, Recommendation
1046 (1986) on the Use of Human Embryos and Foetuses for Diagnostic, Therapeutic,
Scientific, Industrial and Commercial Purposes (Sept. 24, 1986).
| The Assembly, |
| 1. Recalling its Recommendation 934 (1982)
on genetic engineering, proposing a range of measures including in particular
the recognition of the right to a genetic inheritance which should not be
artificially interfered with except for therapeutic purposes ; |
| 2. Considering that recent progress in the
life sciences and medicine, in particular in animal and human embryology,
has opened up remarkable new scientific, diagnostic and therapeutic prospects ; |
| 3. Considering that, by the technique of fertilisation
in vitro, man has achieved the means of intervening in and controlling
human life in its earliest stages ; |
| 4. A. Considering that the exploitation
of technological opportunities not only in science but also in medicine
must be governed by clear ethical and social guidelines ; |
| B. Considering that future benefits from
the advance of medical science and technology must be carefully assessed
in deciding when, and how, and on what grounds, to restrict the exploitation
of technological opportunities ; |
| C. Welcoming the contributions of the
Council of Europe's ad hoc Committee of experts in the biomedical
sciences, and of the European Medical Research Councils operating within
the framework of the European Science Foundation ; |
| D. Noting the statement issued by nine
European Medical Research Councils following the meeting convened in London
on 5 and 6 June 1986 under the auspices of the European Science Foundation ; |
| 5. Considering that, from the moment of fertilisation
of the ovule, human life develops in a continuous pattern, and that it is
not possible to make a clear-cut distinction during the first phases (embryonic)
of its development, and that a definition of the biological status of an
embryo is therefore necessary ; |
| 6. Aware that this progress has made the legal
position of the embryo and foetus particularly precarious, and that their
legal status is at present not defined by law ; |
| 7. Aware that adequate provisions governing
the use of living or dead embryos and foetuses do not at present exist ; |
| 8. Convinced that, in view of scientific progress
which makes it possible to intervene in developing human life from the moment
of fertilisation, it is urgent to define the extent of its legal protection ; |
| 9. Having regard to the variety of ethical
opinions on the question of using the embryo or the foetus or their tissues,
and to the conflicts between values which arise ; |
| 10. Considering that human embryos and foetuses
must be treated in all circumstances with the respect due to human dignity,
and that use of materials and tissues therefrom must be strictly limited
and regulated (see appendix) to purposes which are clearly therapeutic and
for which no other means exist ; |
| 11. Convinced that the use of embryos or foetuses
and the removal of their tissues for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes
are only justified if the principles and conditions specified in the appendix
to this recommendation are observed ; |
| 12. Considering that any exclusively national
regulation of the question runs the risk of being ineffective as any activity
in this field could be transferred to another country which did not enforce
the same regulations ; |
| 13. Stressing the need for European co-operation, |
i. to investigate the rumours about a trade in dead
embryos and foetuses circulating in the media, and to publish the results ;
ii. to limit the use of human embryos and foetuses and
materials and tissues therefrom in an industrial context to purposes
which are strictly therapeutic and for which no other means exist, according
to the principles set out in the appendix, and to bring their legislation
into line with these principles or to enact rules in accordance therewith
which should inter alia specify the conditions in which removal
and use may be undertaken for a diagnostic or therapeutic purpose ;
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iii. to forbid any creation of human embryos by fertilisation
in vitro for the purposes of research during their life or after
death ;
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iv. to forbid anything that could be considered as undesirable
use or deviations of these techniques, including :
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- the creation of identical human beings by cloning
or any other method, whether for race selection purposes or not ;
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- the implantation of a human embryo in the uterus
of another animal or the reverse ;
|
- the fusion of human gametes with those of another
animal (the hamster test for the study of male fertility could be
regarded as an exception, under strict regulation) ;
|
- the creation of embryos from the sperm of different
individuals ;
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- the fusion of embryos or any other operation
which might produce chimeras ;
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- ectogenesis, or the production of an individual
and autonomous human being outside the uterus of a female, that is,
in a laboratory ;
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- the creation of children from people of the
same sex ;
|
- choice of sex by genetic manipulation for non-therapeutic
purposes ;
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- the creation of identical twins ;
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- research on viable human embryos ;
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- experimentation on living human embryos, whether
viable or not ;
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- the maintenance of embryos in vitro
beyond the fourteenth day after fertilisation (having deducted any
time necessary for freezing) ;
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v. to provide appropriate sanctions to ensure the application
of the rules enacted pursuant to this recommendation ;
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vi. to create national registers of accredited medical
centres authorised to carry out such techniques and to make use of them
for scientific purposes ;
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vii. to facilitate and encourage the creation ofnational
multidisciplinary committees or commissions on artificial human reproduction
involving scientific activities concerning genetic material, human embryos
and foetuses - to guide and counsel the medical and scientific authorities,
to follow and control the application of such techniques and to authorise
specific projects in the absence of concrete legislation or regulation ;
|
| B. continue to study the problems relating
to the use of human embryonic and foetal tissue for scientific purposes
and prepare, on the basis of the points mentioned in sub-paragraphs 14.A.ii
to vii, a European convention or any other suitable legal instrument which
would also be open to accession by non-member countries of the Council of
Europe ; |
| 15. Instructs its competent committees to prepare
a report on the use of human embryos and foetuses in scientific research,
taking into account the necessary balance between the principles of freedom
of research and of respect for human life and other aspects of human rights. |
| B. Therapeutic purposes |
| i. No intervention on the living embryo in
vitro or in utero or on the foetus whether inside or outside
the uterus shall be permitted unless its object is the well-being of the
child to be born, that is, to facilitate its development and birth. |
| ii. Therapy on embryos in vitro or in
utero or on the foetus in utero shall not be permitted, unless
it is for very clear and precisely diagnosed embryonic maladies, with grave
or extremely bad prognosis, where no other solution is possible and therapy
would offer reasonable guarantees of successful treatment of those illnesses. |
| iii. It shall be forbidden to keep embryos
or foetuses alive artificially for the purpose of removing usable material. |
| iv. It would be desirable to create a list
of those illnesses where therapy can be based on reliable means of diagnosis
and reasonable guarantees of success. This list would be periodically updated
to take account of new discoveries and scientific progress. |
| v. Therapy conducted on embryos and foetuses
must never influence non-pathological hereditary characteristics, nor have
racial selection as its aim. |
| vi. The use of dead embryos or foetuses must
be an exceptional measure, justified in the present state of knowledge by
the rare nature of the illness treated, the absence of any equally effective
therapy and a manifest advantage (such as survival) for the person receiving
treatment ; it must comply with the following rules : |
a. the decision to terminate pregnancy and
the conditions of termination (date, technique, etc.) must under no
circumstances be influenced by the possible or desired subsequent use
of the embryo or foetus ;
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b. any use of the embryo or foetus must
be undertaken by highly qualified teams in approved hospitals or scientific
centres supervised by the public authorities ; to the extent that
national legislation foresees, these centres must possess multidisciplinary
ethical committees ;
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c. total independence between the medical
team terminating the pregnancy and the team which might use the embryos
or foetuses for therapeutic purposes must be guaranteed ;
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d. embryos and foetuses may not be used
without the consent of the parents or gamete donors where the latters'
identity is known ;
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e. the use of embryos, foetuses or their
tissues for profit or remuneration shall not be allowed.
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