Turner Judy: Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill — Instruction to Committee In Committee 
Turner Judy: Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill — Instruction to Committee In Committee 
[Volume:620;Page:15919] 
JUDY TURNER (United Future) 
: 
 I to refer to comments made earlier by Mr Franks. He said that we do not need a framework that society will work it out for itself and that it will all come right in the wash. He cited the situation in China and said that although China now has a slight imbalance in its population due to sex selection it will all clean up in the wash. When we look at the percentages in China we see that the situation does not look too bad—until we look at the real figures. In the next 10 years I say to Mr Franks China will have 30 million males. There will not be enough females to partner them. I do not quite know how that will come out in the wash. That is the current situation due to sex selection in China. 
I want to talk about some of the amendments I have put forward to Part 2. The first is to clause 9. Clause 9 provides for the ability for an embryo to be developed for 14 days. A very interesting bit of wording that has slipped into the clause refers to the fact that in counting those 14 days we exclude any day during which the development of the embryo is suspended. I have asked officials about this and they thought my concerns were unfounded. However I have done the maths and I still cannot figure out how else this can work. Assuming that the technology is developed whereby we can suspend development start it again and then suspend it again—and I am sure that at present no embryo could survive that repeated process but we may yet develop the technology—then that means an embryo could start developing for one two three or four days and then say on day five have its development suspended. But day five does not have to be counted because it is the day the action was suspended. So even though the embryo is 5 days old it is called a 4-day-old embryo. Then it can be thawed—or whatever the process is—and the counting started again. Its development can then be further suspended but the day on which that occurs does not have to be counted. That means that an embryo that is officially 14 days old has actually been developed beyond 14 days because of the exclusion provision in this clause. I propose that we eliminate the bracketed words in paragraphs (a) and (b) of clause 9(4). That would mean that we count 14 real days and if development is suspended on a given day that day is still counted as a full day. 
The next amendment I propose is to clause 11 “Restrictions on sex selection of human embryos”. It is a simple change to the heading of that clause about sex selection so that we regulate sex selection using not just embryos but of course gametes as we understand that sex selection can take place before an egg is fertilised. 
Stephen Franks 
: Ooh you’re on to that! 
JUDY TURNER 
: We want to make sure if we are to have some regulation around this that we cover the full extent of the process. 
Clause 33 is another where I would like to see the ability for the advisory committee to include a representative from the Office of the Commissioner for Children that representative to be on the committee specifically to make sure that the interests of offspring are fully explored on any given issue. I think it is important that children’s interests are specifically attended to at that level. 
Also I would like new clause 35A “Guidelines to be referred to committee of the House of Representatives” to be inserted. This requires that guidelines from the ministerial advisory committee be referred back to Parliament for scrutiny. 
During the debate on this part we have had some discussion on the “PGD” or preimplantation genetic diagnosis process. I want to bring up an interesting point. In New Zealand in the middle of this debate on this legislation it has been advertised that the Minister is calling for submissions from people who want to have their say on what sort of guidelines should be set for this process. Interested people have received letters with some dates set as to when submissions close. The date is 12 November this year. However it appears that the Minister has already made a decision on this matter and has announced it I think in the last day or so.