Canada’s ES Cell Legislation How it was made and what it says
Canada has no law n There are no laws governing ES cell research n BUT proposed legislation, Bill C- 13, is being debated in Parliament n Bill C-13 addresses assisted human reproduction and related research
Draft legislation n Legislation drafted by Health Canada after consultations with stakeholders and provinces n May 2001: Former Minister of Health gave draft legislation to Standing Committee on Health for review
Standing Committee on Health n A Parliamentary committee n Responsible for examining health issues
Public consultation n Committee heard testimonies from: –doctors –nurses –Health Canada –Justice Canada –women’s groups –UK gov’t –bioethicists –lawyers –patient groups –RCMP –WHO –biotech industry –scientists –religious groups
The Steps of Bill C-13 n Dec 2001: Committee released report based upon consultations n May 2002: New Minister of Health introduced Bill C-56, An Act Respecting Assisted Human Reproduction n Oct 2002: Bill C-56 reintroduced by Health Minister as Bill C-13: same content, just a new name
Status of Bill C-13 First Reading Second Reading (Both on Oct 9, 2002) Referred to Standing Committee on Health… Referred to Standing Committee on Health… Third Reading -? Senate Approval -? Senate Approval -? Stephen Fenn. Reproduction authorized by the Library of Parliament / Reproduction autorisée par la Bibliothèque du Parlement
Compare n How is this process similar to our classroom exercise? –Committees –public consultations n How is it different? –2 rounds of consultations, larger rounds –Committee did not write the legislation –Bill was reintroduced –Parliament must approve legislation
What Bill C-13 says about ES cells
Assisted Human Reproduction Agency n Established by Bill C-13 n Agency will issue licenses, inspect research labs, etc. n Similar to UK Agency, except constrained by tighter legislation
Reaction to Bill C-13 n “Too liberal” n “A good compromise” n “Too restrictive” What’s your opinion? What’s your opinion?