B4-1029, 1082, 1084 and 1085/96

Resolution on the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity with regard to the Application of Biology and Medicine

The European Parliament,

- having regard to its resolutions of 16 March 1989 on the ethical and legal problems of genetic engineering ((OJ C 96, 17.4.1989, p. 165.)) and artificial insemination 'in vivo' and 'in vitro' ((OJ C 96, 17.4.1989, p. 171.)),

- having regard to the draft Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity of the Human Being with regard to the Application of Biology and Medicine: Bioethics Convention ((Version adopted by the Steering Committee on Bioethics (CDBI) on 6June1996.)),

- having regard to the opinion delivered by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in February 1995 ((Minutes of 2 February 1995 (6th Sitting), AS (1995) CRG.)),

A. whereas, in its Opinion C-2/94 of 28 March 1996, the Court of Justice noted that nothing in the Treaty confers a general power on the Community institutions to issue regulations in the field of human rights or conclude related international conventions,

B. whereas proceedings in the drafting committee were concluded in June 1996 and whereas, if Parliament wishes to express a view in any form, it must do so now,

C. whereas the drafting committee ran into difficulties when, for example, it attempted to draw up rules on the admissibility of research carried out on persons unable to give their consent and whereas all possibility of abuse in that connection must be precluded,

D. whereas the development of germ line manipulation is closely linked to the admissibility of research on embryos and whereas experiments would have to be performed on enormous numbers of embryos if such procedures were to be developed,

E. convinced that such procedures should be rejected and banned, since, from the technical point of view, their effects could not be controlled for the foreseeable future, there would be no possibility of obtaining the consent of the future generations concerned, and procedures of this kind would finally throw open the door to eugenics and the commercial exploitation of human beings,

1. Refers to the abovementioned opinion delivered by the Court of Justice; calls on the Commission, as guardian of the Treaties, to say whether it believes that the Community could accede to the Convention under the Treaties as they now stand; calls on the Intergovernmental Conference, should accession be ruled out, to address itself to the problem and, if necessary, consider what amendments would need to be made to the Treaty in order to permit accession;

2. Believes that ethical standards, based on respect for human dignity, must be laid down in the field of biology, biotechnology, and medicine;

3. Believes, since it represents the peoples of the Union and helps to determine how research funds will be shared out, that it must keep the work of the Steering Committee under critical review, as is being done by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the national parliaments;

4. Points out that the Draft Convention in its present form is intended to provide a framework to be supplemented by protocols, the object being to build upon the principles contained in the Convention by applying them in individual areas, and draws attention to the 62 demands made in its above- mentioned resolutions of 16 March 1989;

5. Regrets that originally no public debate was planned or initiated by the Council of Europe, although important ethical issues with great implications for the future were being prepared, and the public should therefore have been kept well informed from the very beginning;

6. Adopts the following position on the most important questions raised by the Draft Convention in its present form and asks the Commission to take due account thereof:

- medical research on a person incapable of giving consent must be permitted only in exceptional circumstances and on condition that his legal representative has given consent freely and in full knowledge of the facts without prejudice to other legal safeguards, that the intervention is directly associated with the affliction of the person concerned, that the research cannot be conducted on a person capable of giving consent and that the nature of the research is such that the health of the person concerned may directly benefit;

- human dignity is indivisible; no discriminatory arrangements may apply to the handicapped; legislation must be enacted solely on the question of the decision to be taken, in accordance with the criteria applicable to those capable of giving consent, in the place of those incapable of giving consent;

- all trade in human embryos, foetuses and foetal tissue without exception must be prohibited by law;

- consumptive research on and the production of human embryos for research purposes must be prohibited;

- in artificial human insemination no more than three embryos must be in a women during one cycle; the preservation of frozen embryos is admissible only in exceptional circumstances if implantation is not possible during one cycle on medical grounds;

- cryo conservation after the fertilization treatment is completed must be forbidden;

- the Convention must state unambiguously that any form of manipulation of the human genome which modifies or seeks to modify the germ line must be prohibited by law, and it is proposed that one article of the draft convention be worded as follows: 'Manipulation of the human genome for preventive, therapeutic or diagnostic purposes may only be undertaken subject to a guarantee that it will not modify the germ line (the treatment of cancer of the gonads by means of radiation or chemotherapy is not forbidden)';

- a ban must be imposed to prevent the findings of genetic tests from being communicated to other persons or bodies (insurance companies and employers, for example) under any circumstances except where so ordered by a court; the effect of Articles 11, 12, 13 and 14 should accordingly be qualified by means of clear provisions on the rights of individual persons to enjoy absolute protection of all data relating to their genetic identity and characteristics;

- the Convention must include clear provisions ensuring that living human organs or tissues may not be bought or sold or otherwise regarded as marketable products;

- tests that predict a genetic disease or reveal a genetic predisposition to such diseases or handicaps must be permitted only in severe circumstances for which effective treatment or preventive measures are now available; any tests developed in the future which are assumed to predict behavioural features must be explicitly prohibited by law;

- discriminating or selection by insurers or employers by means of genetic testing must be forbidden;

- any pressure or limitation on parents' right to accept handicapped children must be forbidden;

7. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the governments of the Member States.