Courtney McGrailStaff reporter
Plans by a leading assisted reproduction centre to introduce to Ireland the use of anonymously donated embryos have been criticised as “illegal” and “unjust”.
Dr Thomas Finegan’s criticism’s come after it was confirmed that Clane Fertility Clinic in Kildare has been acquired by Spain’s Institut Marques.
Dr Finegan, who is a researcher at the Iona Institute, told The Irish Catholic that the use embryos created in Spain and derived from anonymously donated gametes is unjust and, if implemented, will be illegal under sections 24(2) and 26(2) of the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015.
“Those sections prohibits the use of anonymously generated embryos in Irish fertility clinics – it does not matter that the embryos are anonymously generated in another country in a manner that is legal under that jurisdiction’s laws,” he said, noting that under section 32 of the Act, the Minister for Health may shut the facility down.
Human right
“The Institut Marques’ plan is also unjust for it aims to produce children who will be deliberately deprived of knowing who their own biological parents are. This would be to violate the child’s human right to know their parents. It is also part of a wider plan to violate the child’s right to be cared for by their own parents where possible – something which donor assisted human reproduction shows no concern for,” he said.