Embryonic divisions

The British prime minister, Gordon Brown, may have been hoping for a quiet Easter break but he soon got warning in the press of an issue that would scupper any such thoughts. The government is backing a bill that will put into law many of the practices currently licensed case by case by the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority. Britain is currently one of the nations at the forefront of human embryology research which has been a great boost for scientists in the field, but an ongoing problem for opponents. So the prospect of the new bill was the perfect platform for opponents. " The bill represents a monstrous attack on human rights, human dignity and human life, " said Cardinal Keith O'Brian, leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland, " In some European countries one could be jailed for doing what we intend to make legal, " the BBC reported ahead of his Easter sermon on the issue. " I can say the government has no mandate for these changes: they were not in any election manifesto, nor do they enjoy widespread public support, " he said. The government had planned to force its MPs to vote in favour of the new bill at its reading in parliament this month. But by Saturday, the Daily Telegraph was reporting that the prime minister faced a Cabinet revolt. Three Catholic ministers, Des Brown, the defence secretary, Paul Murphy, the Welsh secretary and Ruth Kelly, the transport secretary, were reported to be pushing to vote against part of the bill. Meanwhile other religious leaders were joining the attack. The Archbishop of Cardiff, Peter Smith, condemned the proposals as " gross interference in human life, " the Telegraph reported. And the leader of the Catholic Church in England, Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor, urged Catholics to write to their MPs to demand free voters. " The government is facing a resignation from the cabinet if Gordon Brown refuses to allow Labour ministers to vote against contentious proposals to allow medical research on human–animal embryos " , reported the Guardian. " It is difficult to imagine a single piece of legislation which more comprehensively attacks the sanctity and dignity of human life than News focus this particular bill, " said O'Brian, in the Guardian. But in the face of the Easter religious onslaught, researchers were also raising their profile. By Monday, the Independent's front page …