Assisted Human Reproduction: The New Zealand Situation
Nathaniel Centre Staff
Issue 1, August 2000
Assisted human reproductive technology refers to medical activities, which assist people to conceive and have children. It includes methods currently in use, such as in vitro fertilisation and surrogacy, together with methods which may be possible in the future, such as cloning.
The Moral Status of the Embryo
Anne Dickinson, John Kleinsman, Michael McCabe
Issue 5, November 2001
Across the world the application of new technology at the beginning of life is giving rise to profound ethical questions. How individuals and nations respond to these questions depends primarily upon how they view the moral status of the human embryo.
Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis, Disability and a Catholic Ethic of Caring
John Kleinsman
Issue 9, April 2003
"I no longer believe that we can get by in a caring society, which is the sort I'd prefer, by behaving as if we're accountable only to ourselves."
--Rosemary McLeod, (Dominion Post, Thursday 3 April 2003)
This article highlights some of the broader societal implications associated with the routine use of Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis – a form of genetic testing – for the express intention of promoting the birth of healthy children.
Editorial: Anniversaries
Michael McCabe
Issue 11, November 2003
"If charmed by their beauty...let them know how much the Lord of these excels them, since the very Author of beauty has created them. And if they have been impressed by their power and energy, let them deduce from these how much mightier is God who has formed them, since through the grandeur and beauty of the creatures we may, by analogy, contemplate their Author."
--The Book of Wisdom 13: 3-5
The very language we use when talking about celebrating anniversaries provides us with the best clue as to their precise nature. We talk about "remembering" or "recollecting" significant past events. The etymology of these words reminds us that there is much more at stake than simple nostalgia or the desire to recall either joyful or painful emotions. To "re-member" is to put back together. To "re-collect" is to bring together all the parts, to reform and recreate the whole. That is why each year, on a birthday, or wedding anniversary, for example, we take the time to remember both the enthusiastic beginning of a journey as well as the moments of insight that give meaning to any joy, sacrifice, or sorrow along the way.
Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill
NZ Catholic Bishops' Conference and The Nathaniel Centre
Background
The New Zealand parliament is currently considering legislation to regulate the use of Human Assisted Reproductive Technology. Attempts to establish legislation in this area go back to 1996 when the Labour member Dianne Yates first introduced the Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill. This was followed by the Assisted Reproduction Bill, tabled by Doug Graham in late 1998. Both Bills have never progressed beyond the Select Committee stage. In April 2003 Lianne Dalziel introduced draft legislation in the form of a Supplementary Order Paper (SOP). The SOP effectively makes amendments to the 1996 HART Bill.
Editorial: Abortion - Technology and Truth
Michael McCabe
Issue 14, November 2004
The television documentary, "My Foetus" was shown to New Zealand audiences in September this year. "My Foetus" presented viewers with amazing images of a child before birth, which revealed just how like a newborn baby a foetus is, not just in appearance, but in behaviour.
Update on The Human Assisted Reproductive Technology (HART) Bill
Nathaniel Centre Staff
Issue 14, November 2004
On 6 August 2004 the Health Select Committee reported to Parliament on the Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill 2003. The Bill establishes a legislative framework for controlling human assisted reproductive technology, and fills an eight year gap in which changes in technology and science outstripped attempts to introduce a regulatory framework.
Guidelines for Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis in New Zealand
Nathaniel Centre Staff
Issue 15, April 2005
In November 2004 The Nathaniel Centre responded to an invitation from the National Ethics Committee on Assisted Human Reproduction (NECAHR) to comment on proposed guidelines relating to the practice of Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) in New Zealand. PGD is defined in the NECAHR consultation document as "a procedure devised to test early human embryos for serious inherited genetic conditions... PGD involves several steps: the creation of an embryo via IVF; the removal of one or two cells from the embryo; the genetic testing of these cells for specific genetic conditions; and a subsequent transfer of unaffected embryos to a woman's uterus." [i]