Human tissue and embryos (draft) bill : draft revised legislation for assisted reproduction and embryo research (including establishment of the Regulatory Authority for Tissue and Embryos) / presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Health by Command of Her Majesty.

The Government set out detailed policy proposals for changes to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 in its White Paper (Cm.6989, ISBN 9780101698924) published in December 2006. These proposed changes to the law and regulation relating to human reproductive technologies, following on from a public consultation exercise undertaken during 2005, sought to balance the competing claims of reproductive liberty and responsibility, patient safety, child welfare, professional autonomy and public accountability. This document contains the draft text of the proposed Human Tissue and Embryos Bill, published in order to enable pre-legislative scrutiny of the proposals by a Parliamentary Committee. It includes the text of the draft Bill, explanatory notes, a draft regulatory impact assessment and a version of how the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act would look if amended by the draft Bill and the EU Tissue Directive. The proposals include the creation of the new single regulatory authority on the use of human tissue, cells and blood, to be called the Regulatory Authority for Tissue and Embryos (RATE), to replace the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority and the Human Tissue Authority.