Obtaining Salvation - Regulation of Access to Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis for the Selection of Saviour Siblings in Australia

Abstract

This paper was submitted as an Honours Thesis at the ANU College of Law, supervised by Alex Bruce.Embryos can now be genetically analysed, prior to their implantation (through the vitro fertilisation process) using a technique known as preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). The utility of this technique has expanded in recent years to enable the selection of a tissue compatible child, to enable tissue donation to an older sick sibling. This paper examines the present regulation of access to PGD for the selection of saviour siblings in Australia. At present the regulation of saviour siblings in Australia, can be divided into two separate systems: prescriptive legislative systems which have unjustly bifurcated access, or an informal regulatory structure with an absence of enforceability. I seek to highlight the inadequacies of the present regulations governing access to PGD for the purpose of selecting saviour siblings. The inherent failing in each, is their inadequate dealing with the inescapable ethical issues surrounding saviour siblings. I conclude that it is only through regulatory reform that the law achieve legitimacy, absent from the current systems. The fundamental basis of my reform proposal is the need for a regulatory system that reflects the scope for moral issues, which arise with the use of PGD for the selection of saviour siblings. A difficult balance must be struck between sufficient recognition of society's moral concerns, and the avoidance of an overly prescriptive legislative scheme that unjustifiably curtails individual autonomy. To this end my reform proposal would see statutory bodies operating within a framework of guiding principles established in non-prescriptive legislation in each jurisdiction. This regulatory structure will better achieve the regulatory legitimacy that is required.