§ Bob SpinkTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will ban the use of tissue from aborted foetuses in research for Parkinson's disease; and what assessment he has made of the side-effects caused to patients by its use in research. [97986]
§ Ms BlearsThere are no plans to ban the use of foetal tissue in therapeutic research programmes. In accordance with the Polkinghorne guidelines research ethics committees need to examine all such proposals. Research or innovative therapy involving foetal tissue must be assessed on the merit of the individual proposal and the ethical issues involved. Any adverse effects observed would need to be reported through the appropriate systems in accordance with the Research Governance Framework for Health and Social Care (2001).