I understand the hon. Gentleman's point, which is important. However, I do not know where the balance of the evidence takes us. I do not wish to be in any way disagreeable, but 30 or 40 years ago it could have been argued that somebody born out of wedlock would be disadvantaged for the rest of their lives. Some people might have made a value judgment, but all I can say is that I know a lot of people who were born to unmarried parents and do not seem to have suffered any psychological disadvantage at all. I return to my previous point: the one thing that we do know is that most people who have benefited a sibling through this sort of procedure report that it makes them feel good about themselves and creates a greater bond.
The issue is complicated and it is difficult to say that in every case the use of saviour siblings would be damaging or that in every case it would be wonderful; there will be a wide spectrum of reactions to the experience. However, I do not think that the argument put by the hon. Member for South-West Devon (Mr. Streeter) seriously militates against their use.
Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill [Lords]
Proceeding contribution from
George Howarth
(Labour)
in the House of Commons on Monday, 19 May 2008.
It occurred during Debate on bills
and
Committee of the Whole House (HC) on Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill [Lords].
Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
476 c89-90 
Session
2007-08
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
Subjects
Librarians' tools
Timestamp
2023-12-16 01:41:12 +0000
URI
http://data.parliament.uk/pimsdata/hansard/CONTRIBUTION_474203
In Indexing
http://indexing.parliament.uk/Content/Edit/1?uri=http://data.parliament.uk/pimsdata/hansard/CONTRIBUTION_474203
In Solr
https://search.parliament.uk/claw/solr/?id=http://data.parliament.uk/pimsdata/hansard/CONTRIBUTION_474203