The HFE Bill threatens human dignity (proposals to create animal-human hybrids), family life (further commodifying children and deliberately creating fatherless ones), and life itself (by liberalising abortion law and embryo research).
Animal-human hybrids are unnecessary and unethical. They undermine human dignity and identity, damage historicity and lineage, change the nature of relationship within families, insult the 'image of God', and breach the prohibition on mixing 'kinds'.
Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). We oppose any extension of practice and believe that it should be used, if at all, only in life threatening single gene disorders.
Sex selection. CMF welcomes the ban on sex selection for non-medical reasons being maintained, and its extension to sperm sorting techniques, but even where carried out for medical reasons, sex selection devalues the vulnerable.
Saviour siblings. We should not use people as a means to an end. We uphold the biblical condemnation of 'Let us do evil that good may result'.
Fatherless children. We uphold historic Christian teaching that children should be born into a family headed by two parents of the opposite sex, legally married for life.
Abortion: upper time limits. Because of improved neonatal survival, foetal awareness, and growing perceptions of the humanity of the foetus, CMF advocates an immediate substantial reduction.
Abortion: discriminatory abortion for disability. Discriminatory abortion to term should be ended. Affected women could still access abortion on other grounds.
Abortion: a Charter for Informed Consent. CMF supports access to comprehensive balanced counselling independent of abortion authorisation or provision, and a compulsory short cooling-off period.
Abortion: independent oversight of legality and consequences. CMF advocates an independent board to monitor health consequences and to provide objective health information to doctors, counsellors, pregnant women and those close to them.
Abortion: 2-doctor certification to remain. The current medico-legal requirement protects the woman, her foetus, and the doctors. It should be retained and enforced.
Abortion: who can perform and where. Only qualified medical practitioners should perform abortions and current premises licensing arrangements should be retained.
Abortion: conscientious objection. Current legal rights should be upheld and subject to compliance with appropriate professional guidelines, those with ethical concerns about abortion must in principle be allowed to counsel patients.
Abortion: extension to Northern Ireland. Abortion is a devolved issue which must be left to the democratically elected representatives of the citizens of Northern Ireland.
