Court rules out plan to create baby for transplant

The controversy over designer babies was re-ignited yesterday when the High Court ruled against a couple who wanted to create a sibling to provide a transplant for their terminally ill child.

Josephine Quintavalle, an anti-abortion campaigner, had argued in a hearing this month that it was ethically objectionable to allow the screening of embryos by tissue typing to provide a "donor sibling" for a sick child. She said it was for Parliament to make decisions "of such magnitude".

The case focused on a decision by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) to allow Raj and Shahana Hashmi, from Leeds, to select an embryo to provide a life-saving transplant for their son, Zain, who has a rare genetic blood disorder. The Hashmis have been trying for a new baby using the technique since July, but will now have to stop.

In his surprise ruling, Mr Justice Maurice Kay said the HFEA had acted beyond its legal powers. Under the 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act, it could grant licences to clinics "for the purpose of assisting women to carry children" and to ensure embryos were in a suitable condition for that purpose.

The judge said: "The sole purpose of tissue typing is to ensure that any such child would have tissue compatibility with its older sibling. I do not consider that it can be said to be 'necessary and desirable' for the purpose of assisting a woman to carry a child."

He said the case was in a difficult area and the legislation had been tightly drawn so as to "restrict the potential for misuse of science and technology". But he added: "I have great sympathy with the family, whose tragic circumstances may be said to have given rise to this case, and I respect the sincerity of the views of those who wish to help them." The HFEA will appeal after the judge invited it to challenge his judgment on the basis that the case raised matters of the utmost importance.

Ms Quintavalle, from the group Comment on Reproductive Ethics, said: "This is a victory for the supremacy of Parliament. Such highly contentious ethical issues are for Parliament alone to decide."

Scientists were disappointed. Juliet Tizzard, the director of the Progress Educational Trust, which promotes the benefits of genetic science, said: "It is a sign of the failure to win public and parliamentary support for their view that the Pro-Life Alliance is now using legal technicalities to buy public attention."