Therapeutic research in assisted conception

Project Information

Grant agreement ID: BMH4983580

Project closed

Start date 1 April 1998

End date 30 September 1999

Funded under

• Specific research, technological development and demonstration programme in the field of biomedicine and health, 1994-1998

Total cost No data

EU contribution No data

Coordinated by

University of Wales Cardiff
United Kingdom

Objective

ABSTRACT Objectives:

The Bioethics Convention of the Council of Europe will, for signatories who as yet have no legislation in the area, prohibit most fundamental research on the human embryo, but will permit research on embryos in relation to their development or in relation to the diagnosis of the most serious diseases. This is likely to have a most profound effect on embryo research in Europe and may encourage experimentation as therapeutic research, that is, research undertaken for the benefit of the individual in question. Because it may largely be undertaken in the context of routine clinical treatment, therapeutic research may not be subject to the same rigorous scientific and ethical scrutiny as non-therapeutic research. Moreover, in the area of assisted conception, experimental procedures which are undertaken ostensibly for the benefit of the embryo but, in reality, to provide the infertile couple seeking treatment with a healthy child, may have unexpected and unwanted long term effects.

By means of two focused workshops this concerted action aims to review the current situation within member states with regard to legislation in the area of assisted conception and the extent of both therapeutic and non-therapeutic research being undertaken. The likely impact of the Bioethics Convention will be assessed and a report and recommendations made to the European Commission on whether there is a need for the harmonisation of ethical, legal or other regulation of therapeutic embryo research such as the standardisation of databases and procedures for collecting records so that future analysis of long term effects would be possible.

keywords
Human embryo, assisted conception, therapeutic research, ethics, legislation, regulation.

Fields of science

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.

• natural sciences › computer and information sciences › databases
• humanities › philosophy, ethics and religion › ethics › ethical principles
• medical and health sciences › clinical medicine › embryology

Programme(s)

• FP4-BIOMED 2 - Specific research, technological development and demonstration programme in the field of biomedicine and health, 1994-1998

Topic(s)

• 8.1 - Ethical, legal and social aspects

Call for proposal

Data not available

Funding Scheme

CSC - Cost-sharing contracts

Coordinator

University of Wales Cardiff

• EU contribution: No data
• Address: Museum Avenue ; CF1 1XD Cardiff ; United Kingdom
• Total cost: No data