Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-09-06-Speech-3-239"
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"en.20000906.10.3-239"2
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"Mr President, this is a serious and complex subject, which has been brought to the fore by the British decision. It should also be pointed out that national legislation on this issue varies enormously, which can lead to uncontrolled practices, but these practices, as Mrs Grossetête said just now, may make us question the value some countries place on the reality of the principle of respect for human life from the embryonic stage, stated in Article 18 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which forbids the production of embryos for human purposes.
The difference between provisions shows how complex the debate is and raises several questions that merge into one another. What does respect for life mean? What does the pre-embryo mean in relation to the embryo? Do we have the right to authorise research into the embryo for therapeutic purposes? Where do the stem cells come from? Should embryos be cloned? Do stem cells come from foetal tissue as well as from adult tissue? Do we have the right to create embryos for any purposes other than for life itself? In the face of serious illnesses, which are currently incurable, do we have the right to prevent research being carried out, which we are told may bring hope?
All of these questions are laden with consequences and concern the meaning of life itself. This is why we must have dialogue, especially within the European bodies, and I regret the fact, Commissioner, that President Prodi gave a sneak preview of his interventions on Monday to the press before he shared them with the European Parliament. I must say that his comments were very cautious and carefully measured on this issue.
Secondly, I think that in order to hold this debate, Parliament should create an ad hoc Parliamentary committee which, could, in the first instance, quickly take the initiative of hearing experts from all disciplines, both from Europe and from across the Atlantic. This debate must also, however, be held in the public domain. That is why I propose that European ‘assises’ for bioethics be launched and there should finally be a provision which allows us to frame practices in this area at a time when we are pointlessly establishing monitoring centres. I propose that a European Agency for reproductive and biotechnological medicine be created."@en1
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