Parental Choice, Research Impinged by Bill C-13

Members of parliament must amend Bill C-13 so that it doesn't unjustifiably remove valid reproductive options for Canadians or inhibit important medical research

Proposed Bill C-13 is slated for debate in the House of Commons this week, and many Canadians are concerned that it will be voted into law.

The bill, titled An Act respecting assisted human reproductive technologies and related research," calls for bans on therapeutic and reproductive cloning, germ-line modifications, gender selection of offspring, the creation of chimeras and animal-human hybrids for reproduction, commercial surrogate mothers and the sale of human reproductive materials or embryos.

Already the target of much criticism, the bills potential prohibitions have infuriated many individuals and groups, including infertile couples and those people, such as Parkinsons victims, who stand a good chance of reaping the benefits of research into therapeutic cloning.

Under the act, Canadians would be forbidden to pay for sperm, eggs or surrogacy. Health Minister Anne McLellan maintains that these types of reproductive contributions should be limited to acts of altruism.

"How many friends do most of us have who would, out of the goodness of their heart, go through two weeks of injections, nine months of pregnancy and childbirth so that we could have a child?" asks Simon Smith, president of the Toronto Transhumanist Association. "In their reactionary attempt to prevent the commodification of human reproduction, the Liberals are ignoring the realities that Canadian couples face. People without extraordinarily altruistic friends will be doomed to a childless future."

Bill C-13 isn't just unfair to the one in six Canadians who suffer from infertility, says Smith, but also to people suffering from such health conditions as Alzheimers, Parkinsons and paralysis. "Therapeutic cloning has the potential to produce stem cells that could treat or even cure many currently incurable conditions," says Smith. "If Bill C-13 passes, research on therapeutic cloning won't stop, it will just move to more amenable countries. In essence, Canada will be waving goodbye to a significant part of its biotech future."

George Dvorsky, Vice President of the Toronto Transhumanist Association, is concerned that under Bill C-13 Canadians will be denied what he considers to be ethical and viable reproductive options. He is an advocate of commercial surrogacy and gender selection, and believes that consenting adults in a free society should be entitled to use these types of life-giving services. "People should be wary of any attempt by the Canadian government to control the reproductive processes of their bodies," he says. "Canadians couples should be allowed to select something as basic as the gender of their own offspring. People already try to select the gender of their children using all sorts of primitive and ineffective means. Why should new means be made illegal simply because they're more effective?"

Dvorsky also worries that by making commercial surrogacy illegal, couples will seek such services in the United States, or enter into shady and unmonitored underground activities.

The proposed act claims to 'respect assisted reproductive technologies and research, and instead fails to 'respect those Canadians who could really use those technologies and services," says Dvorsky. This is another example of the government prying their way into the bedrooms of the nation and telling us which procreative options are appropriate for us and which are not.
About the Toronto Transhumanist Association
The Toronto Transhumanist Association (TTA) is a chapter of the World Transhumanist Association, a global organization founded in 1997 to support discussion, research and public awareness of Transhumanist thinking. There are currently more than 50 formed or forming chapters of the World Transhumanist Association around the world.

Transhumanism is concerned with ethically expanding technological opportunities for all people to live longer and healthier lives, to enhance their intellectual, physical and emotional capacities, and to enjoy a future of freedom and prosperity.
Website

If youre interested in learning more, please visit our Website at http://toronto.transhumanism.com or email george@betterhumans.com.
Contacts

Simon Smith: simon@betterhumans.com

George Dvorsky: george@betterhumans.com