[Greens-Media] Baby out with the bath water!

[Manderson, Roland]

---------------------------
ACT GREENS MLA DEB FOSKEY MEDIA RELEASE
---------------------------
 
Tues 8 April 08



Baby out with the bath water!

ACT Greens MLA Deb Foskey has argued that the ACT Government has thrown
its ethical baby out with the bathwater in agreeing uncritically to a
national regime to regulate embryo research, including the use of human
and other cloning.

"The Greens support establishing a regime for this research but believe
it needs to be closely watched" Dr Foskey said today.

 "Today I moved to put a sunset clause on the legislation so that the
ACT Assembly would have to revisit this decision, and the ethical issues
around it, in five years time."

"Unfortunately the ACT Government wouldn't support this amendment.
Taking the position that as this legislation reflects an
intergovernmental agreement, the ACT Assembly - which had to pass it -
shouldn't amend it at all."

"It's my view that the whole area of embryo and genetic research is
evolving at a rate of knots and it is important to reconsider the
complex ethical questions at regular intervals."

"The ACT Government however has ducked the issue. It has argued that the
Commonwealth's scientific review of the operation of the relevant acts
would be sufficient but there is no need for MLAs to check how their
ethical judgements stand up over time."

"In the interest of a nationally consistent approach to embryo research,
this government has thrown its ethical baby out with the bath water" Dr
Foskey said.


================================
Roland Manderson   Media Advisor
ACT   Greens    MLA  Deb  Foskey  
Legislative Assembly for the ACT 
ph(02)62050551      m 0412241379
==== www.act.greens.org.au ===== 
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
This email, and any attachments, may be confidential and also privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender and delete all copies of this transmission along with any attachments immediately. You should not copy or use it for any purpose, nor disclose its contents to any other person.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------