P6_TA(2005)0074#Planned egg cell trade#European Parliament resolution on the trade in human egg cells
Date: 2005-03-10
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: Romania, United Kingdom, care of mothers and infants, cross-border cooperation, embryo and foetus, illicit trade, test tube fertilisation, trade in organs

15.12.2005

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 320 E/251

Thursday 10 March 2005

18.
Recalls the importance of individual freedom of expression, but underlines the role of the media,
advertising and the Internet in establishing values and gender stereotypes; welcomes, therefore, a debate
with users and regulatory authorities on their role, with a view to identifying and striking the right balance
between freedom of expression and the right to human dignity, especially as regards media and advertising
viewable by children;

19.
Calls on the Commission and the Council to propose measures to improve women's access to full
participation in economic, social and political decision making, and stresses the importance of implement-
ing gender mainstreaming in all European policies;

Calls on the Commission and the Council to ensure that all programmes and activities financed
include gender-based budgeting, starting in

20.
through EU budgets, especially under the Structural Funds,
2006;

21.
Calls on political parties, at both national and European level, to review their party structures and
procedures with the aim of removing all barriers that directly or indirectly militate against the participation
of women and to adopt appropriate strategies with a view to achieving a better balance between women
and men in elected assemblies, including affirmative measures such as quotas;

Calls on the Commission to propose a follow-up strategy on the indicators put forward by the

22.
various EU Presidencies;

23. Welcomes the legal reforms that have been carried out in Turkey, but reiterates its concern that
women there are still victims of honour killings and violence, and calls therefore on the Commission and
the Council to continue their cooperation with the Turkish authorities and to follow closely the women's
rights situation in Turkey;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments of

24.
the Member States and the UN Secretary-General.

P6_TA(2005)0074

Planned egg cell trade

European Parliament resolution on the trade in human egg cells

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

in particular Article 152(4)(a)

thereof,

— having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, in particular Article 3
thereof, which states that making the human body and its parts as such a source of financial gain is
prohibited,

— having regard to Directive 2004/23/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March
2004 on setting standards of quality and safety for the donation, procurement, testing, processing,
preservation, storage and distribution of human tissues and cells (1),

— having regard to its resolution of 23 October 2003 (2) on the prevention and control of trafficking in

human organs and tissues,

— having regard to Rule 103(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

(1) OJ L 102, 7.4.2004, p. 48.
(2) OJ C 82 E, 1.4.2004, p. 580.

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Official Journal of the European Union

EN

15.12.2005

Thursday 10 March 2005

A. whereas media reports at the end of December 2004 uncovered the existence of a clinic in Romania
specialising in the donation of egg cells to European Union nationals, particularly UK citizens, in return
for financial compensation,

B. whereas a team sent from the UK HFEA (the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority) to
Romania to investigate concerns about payments to donors was unable to find any evidence that
Romanian donors were being paid more than legitimate expenses, but on the other hand the Romanian
Government decided to close the clinic and to forward the case to the Prosecutor's Office,

C. whereas the HFEA has published a consultation paper, in which a payment of GBP 1 000 for the donor

is an option, and has asked the public to comment on it,

D. whereas the harvesting of egg cells poses a high medical risk to the life and health of women, resulting

inter alia from hyper stimulation of the ovaries,

E. whereas, despite the possibility of serious effects on women's life and health, the high price paid for egg

cells incites and encourages donation, given the relative poverty of the donors;

F. whereas the promise of financial incentives could cause a woman, especially one who is in a state of
economic need, to consider the sale of her ova, possibly resulting in serious risks to her own life and
health, as well as to the recipient, as the donor might not disclose a medical history or medical risks
that would make donation inadvisable;

G. whereas Article 12 of Directive 2004/23/EC makes clear that payment, other than compensation, for
cell and tissue donations in Europe is not acceptable and that cells and tissues must not as such be
subject to trade,

H. whereas the procurement of cells may not be subject to any pressure or incentive, whilst the voluntary
and unpaid donation of egg cells must be guaranteed, so that women do not become ‘suppliers of raw
material’,

Recalls that the human body should not be a source of financial gain and that particular attention

1.
should be paid to vulnerable individuals at risk of becoming victims of trafficking, particularly women;

2.
Condemns all trafficking in the human body and its parts, and stresses that Article 12(1) of Directive
2004/23/EC requires Member States to endeavour to ensure voluntary and unpaid donations of tissues and
cells;

Recalls also that this provision leaves responsibility for authorising and setting the levels of compen-

3.
sation within the framework of the Directive in question to the Member States;

Considers that the activities of the Global Arts Clinic in Romania and similar bodies can be regarded

4.
as trade, and thus unacceptable;

Calls on the Commission fully to investigate the above-mentioned reports and especially to clarify the

5.
contradictions between the information from the UK authorities and that from the Romanian authorities;

6.
Calls on the Member States to take the necessary measures, before 7 April 2006 when Directive 2004/
23/EC must be implemented, to put in place a transparent and progressive policy with regard to making
good the expenses and inconveniences related to tissue and cell donations;

7.
Calls on the Commission to carry out an assessment as soon as possible of national legislation on egg
cell donation and the compensation system for the donation of organs and reproductive cells, and to make
this assessment public;

8.
Considers that one of the essential issues in practice is the need to provide infertile couples awaiting
an egg donation with a real solution, and calls on the Commission to intensify and strengthen alternatives
for the prevention and treatment of infertility;

15.12.2005

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 320 E/253

Thursday 10 March 2005

9. Wishes to see egg cell donation, like organ donation generally, strictly regulated in order to protect
both donors and recipients and to tackle all forms of human exploitation;

Stresses that any woman forced to sell any part of her body, including reproductive cells, becomes

10.
prey to organised crime networks that traffic in people and organs;

11. Welcomes the United Nations General Assembly resolution of 8 March 2005 (A/59/516/Add. 1),
which refers explicitly to the need to prevent the exploitation of women, and asks the Commission accord-
ingly to rule out support and funding for human cloning under any EU programme;

Calls on the Commission to ascertain whether such cases also occur in Member States, candidate

12.
countries or third countries;

Calls on the Member States to take measures to prevent the exploitation of women in the application

13.
of life science;

14. Welcomes the decision of the Sixth Committee of the United Nations of 18 February 2005, and asks
the Commission accordingly to exclude human cloning from funding under the 7th Research Framework
Programme;

Asks the Commission to apply the subsidiarity principle in connection with other forms of embryo
15.
research and embryonic stem cell research so that Member States in which this kind of research is legal fund
it from their national budgets; considers that EU funding should concentrate on alternatives like somatic
stem cell and umbilical cord stem cell research, which are accepted in all Member States and have already
led to successful treatment of patients;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Presidency of the European Union, the Coun-

16.
cil, the Commission and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.

P6_TA(2005)0075

Review of the Non-Proliferation Treaty — Nuclear arms in North Korea and Iran

European Parliament resolution on the Non-Proliferation Treaty 2005 Review Conference —
Nuclear arms in North Korea and Iran

The European Parliament,

— having regard to Rule 103(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.

B.

taking into account and reiterating its previous resolutions on nuclear disarmament, and in particular
its resolution of 26 February 2004 (1) on the Preparatory Committee meeting for the Non-Proliferation
Treaty Review Conference in 2005,

underlining that the European Security Strategy and the EU's Strategy against the proliferation of
weapons of mass destruction (WMD), as adopted by the enlarged EU, emphasise the importance of
nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament,

C.

recognising that all the Member States are States Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of
Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and that two Member States are nuclear-weapon states as defined in the NPT,

(1) OJ C 98 E, 23.4.2004, p. 152.