Harawira: Human Assisted Reproductive Technology

Human Assisted Reproductive Technology (Storage) Amendment
Hone Harawira, Maori Party Member of Parliament, Te Tai Tokerau
Tuesday 7 September 2010

There are three very specific concerns that the Maori Party wants to raise in this discussion to amend the Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Act 2004 to state that in vitro embryos must be disposed of before the expiry period of ten years – or any later date approved by the ethics committee.

The first is the lack of consultation regarding Tikanga Maori; the second is the status of Whakapapa; and the third is the critical issue of Ethical Responsibility in respect of Maori ownership, and participation in decision-making.

All of these concerns of course, are wrapped up in Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and as tangata whenua, and as a Treaty partner, we restate the constitutional obligation of all agencies of the Crown, including ethics committees, to ensure Māori participation, protection and partnership in all decision-making.

TIKANGA

Now - when we think about tikanga in this field I note that a separate Ethics Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technology has been established to review and approve research involving new technologies or treatments for human reproduction and infertility; technologies which can be highly invasive and even exploitative; technologies such as tissue banking, genetic engineering, the manipulation and storage of human embryos, therapeutic cloning, pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, splitting of embryos, and the creation of hybrid embryos or transgenic life-forms.

And although this legislation is specifically restricted to the storage of embryos, I wanted to make reference to the wider field and the particular risks and concerns it poses for Maori.

One of ECARTs seven guiding principles states that “the needs, values and beliefs of Māori should be considered and treated with respect”.

Those needs, values and beliefs are all part of the tikanga that we desperately want to see applied throughout all processes; be it the process used for the handing over, the storage, or the burial or cremation of embryos. These are specially charged moments for Maori and need to be properly considered, managed and handled in line with Tikanga Maori.

Indeed the Advisory Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technology has already highlighted Māori concerns about the protection of whakapapa and need for collective discussion about cultural implications, kaitiakitanga, and appropriate tikanga, in their report - The Use of In Vitro Maturation in Fertility Treatment - released last year.

Having documented the concerns, we believe it is now time to take action to give effect to the report’s recommendations, and yet in this bill, both the issues and recommendations in respect of Maori concerns, are simply nowhere to be seen.

WHAKAPAPA

The second critical aspect is about the law recognising the authority that whänau should have over their whakapapa, and any embryonic material that contains such whakapapa - a concept clearly spelt out in an article by Dr Marewa Glover and Benedicta Rousseau entitled “Your child is your whakapapa: Maori considerations of Assisted Human Reproduction and Relatedness”.

Their study noted that for Maori, these issues could not just be confined to the mechanics of technology, or objective technological interventions - they were about what constitutes human life and relationships; they were about the importance and uniqueness of Maori identity; they were about whakapapa; and they were about the right of whänau to determine what happens to their embryos rather than allow that decision to be made by a few people on a detached committee.

And the reason is simple – those eggs / embryos / fetuses / babies belong to the whanau, not to the scientists.

ETHICS

Finally, I come to the issue of the ethical responsibility of what happens to unused eggs after the 10 years, who owns them, and how decisions are made about them, and I refer the House to a key resource on ethical consent around Maori issues, Te Tauranga Waka, put together by the Pūtaiora Writing Group - Khyla Russell, Barry Smith, Moe Milne, Paul Reynolds, Stephanie Palmer and Maui Hudson - who recommended:
gathering and reporting data relevant and meaningful for Māori to provide for proper assessment of issues;
understanding critical issues such as kaitiakitanga and their place in the decision-making process;
and ensuring Maori participation in decision-making itself.

Finally, we raise again the whole question of whether human embryo use in research will help sustain us or contribute to our demise as a people, the ownership that whänau should have over any of their own embryonic material, and the right of whänau to be fully involved in all relevant decision-making concerning any issues to do with their whakapapa.

Mr Speaker - there are too many weighty issues involved in this Bill - and while we understand and support it’s general intention, we simply do not believe that there has been sufficient korero with whanau, hapu and iwi for us to do anything other than to oppose this Bill at this point in time.

ENDS