[Index] [Search] [Download] [Related Items] [Help]
This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
Western Australia Human Reproductive Technology Amendment (Prohibition of Human Cloning) Bill 2003 CONTENTS 1. Short title 1 2. Commencement 2 3. The Act amended 2 4. Section 3 amended 2 5. Section 4 amended 2 6. Section 25 amended 2 7. Section 26 amended 3 8. Part 4A inserted 3 9. Section 53ZG amended 12 10. Sections 53ZP, 53ZQ and 53ZR amended 13 page i 235--1 Western Australia LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY (As divided by the Assembly and pro forma amendments) Human Reproductive Technology Amendment (Prohibition of Human Cloning) Bill 2003 A Bill for An Act to further amend the Human Reproductive Technology Act 1991. The Parliament of Western Australia enacts as follows: 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Human Reproductive Technology Amendment (Prohibition of Human Cloning) Act 2003. page 1 Human Reproductive Technology Amendment (Prohibition of Human Cloning) Bill 2003 s. 2 2. Commencement This Act comes into operation immediately after the Human Reproductive Technology Amendment Act 2003 comes into operation. 5 3. The Act amended The amendments in this Act are to the Human Reproductive Technology Act 1991*. [*Act No. 22 of 1991. For subsequent amendments see Western Australian 10 Legislation Information Tables for 2002, Table 1, p. 177 and the Human Reproductive Technology Amendment Bill 2003 currently before Parliament.] 4. Section 3 amended Section 3(2) is by inserting before "4B" -- 15 " 4A or ". 5. Section 4 amended After section 4(1) the following section is inserted -- " (1a) The particular objects of Part 4A are set out in section 20 53A. ". 6. Section 25 amended Section 25(a) is amended by deleting "section 7(1)(j);" and inserting instead -- 25 " section 53Q; ". page 2 Human Reproductive Technology Amendment (Prohibition of Human Cloning) Bill 2003 s. 7 7. Section 26 amended Section 26(1)(a) is amended by deleting "section 7(1)(j)," and inserting instead -- " section 53Q, ". 5 8. Part 4A inserted After section 53 the following Part is insereted -- " Part 4A -- Prohibited practices Division 1 -- General 10 53A. Object of this Part (1) The object of this Part is -- (a) to address concerns, including ethical concerns, about scientific developments in relation to human reproduction and the utilisation of 15 human embryos by prohibiting certain practices; and (b) to adopt in this State a uniform Australian approach to the prohibitions. (2) For that purpose, this Part creates a number of offences 20 that are similar to offences under the Prohibition of Human Cloning Act 2002 of the Commonwealth. 53B. Definitions (1) In this Part -- "animal" does not include a human; 25 "chimeric embryo" means -- (a) a human embryo into which a cell, or any component part of a cell, of an animal has been introduced; or page 3 Human Reproductive Technology Amendment (Prohibition of Human Cloning) Bill 2003 s. 8 (b) a thing declared by regulations under the Prohibition of Human Cloning Act 2002 of the Commonwealth to be a chimeric embryo; "human embryo clone" means a human embryo that 5 is a genetic copy of another living or dead human, but does not include a human embryo created by the fertilisation of a human egg by human sperm; "hybrid embryo" means -- (a) an embryo created by the fertilisation of a 10 human egg by animal sperm; (b) an embryo created by the fertilisation of an animal egg by human sperm; (c) a human egg into which the nucleus of an animal cell has been introduced; 15 (d) an animal cell into which the nucleus of a human cell has been introduced; or (e) a thing declared by regulations under the Prohibition of Human Cloning Act 2002 of the Commonwealth to be a hybrid embryo; 20 "precursor cell" means a cell that has the potential to develop into a human egg or human sperm. (2) For the purposes of establishing that a human embryo clone is a genetic copy of a living or dead human -- (a) it is sufficient to establish that the set of 25 genes in the nuclei of the cells of the living or dead human has been copied; and (b) it is not necessary to establish that the copy is an identical genetic copy. (3) For the purposes of the definition of "human embryo 30 clone" in subsection (1), a human embryo that results from the technological process known as embryo splitting is taken not to be created by a process of fertilisation of a human egg by human sperm. page 4 Human Reproductive Technology Amendment (Prohibition of Human Cloning) Bill 2003 s. 8 (4) A reference in this Part to a number of penalty units is a reference to the amount calculated in accordance with the following formula -- AxB 5 where -- A is that number of penalty units; and B is the amount (in dollars) that is for the time being a penalty unit under section 4AA of the Crimes Act 1914 of the Commonwealth. 10 Division 2-- Human cloning 53C. Offence -- creating a human embryo clone A person commits a crime if the person creates a human embryo clone. Penalty: A fine of 900 penalty units or imprisonment 15 for 15 years or both. 53D. Offence -- placing a human embryo clone in the human body or the body of an animal A person commits a crime if the person places a human embryo clone in the body of a human or the body of an 20 animal. Penalty: A fine of 900 penalty units or imprisonment for 15 years or both. 53E. Offence -- importing or exporting a human embryo clone 25 (1) A person commits a crime if the person imports a human embryo clone into the State from a place outside Australia. Penalty: A fine of 900 penalty units or imprisonment for 15 years or both. page 5 Human Reproductive Technology Amendment (Prohibition of Human Cloning) Bill 2003 s. 8 (2) A person commits a crime if the person exports a human embryo clone from the State to a place outside Australia. Penalty: A fine of 900 penalty units or imprisonment 5 for 15 years or both. 53F. No defence that human embryo clone could not survive It is not a defence to an offence under section 53C, 53D or 53E that the human embryo clone did not 10 survive or could not have survived. Division 3 -- Other prohibited practices 53G. Offence -- creating a human embryo other than by fertilisation, or developing such an embryo A person commits a crime if the person creates a 15 human embryo by a process other than the fertilisation of a human egg by human sperm, or develops a human embryo so created. Penalty: A fine of 600 penalty units or imprisonment for 10 years or both. 20 Summary conviction penalty: A fine of 120 penalty units or imprisonment for 2 years or both. 53H. Offence -- creating a human embryo for a purpose other than achieving pregnancy in a woman (1) A person commits a crime if the person creates a 25 human embryo outside the body of a woman, unless the person's intention in creating the embryo is to attempt to achieve pregnancy in a particular woman. Penalty: A fine of 600 penalty units or imprisonment for 10 years or both. 30 Summary conviction penalty: A fine of 120 penalty units or imprisonment for 2 years or both. page 6 Human Reproductive Technology Amendment (Prohibition of Human Cloning) Bill 2003 s. 8 (2) A defendant does not bear an evidential burden in relation to the exception provided by subsection (1). 53I. Offence -- creating or developing a human embryo containing genetic material provided by more than 5 2 persons A person commits a crime if the person creates or develops a human embryo containing genetic material provided by more than 2 persons. Penalty: A fine of 600 penalty units or imprisonment 10 for 10 years or both. Summary conviction penalty: A fine of 120 penalty units or imprisonment for 2 years or both. 53J. Offence -- developing a human embryo outside the body of a woman for more than 14 days 15 A person commits a crime if the person develops a human embryo outside the body of a woman for a period of more than 14 days, excluding any period when development is suspended. Penalty: A fine of 600 penalty units or imprisonment 20 for 10 years or both. Summary conviction penalty: A fine of 120 penalty units or imprisonment for 2 years. 53K. Offence -- using precursor cells from a human embryo or a human fetus to create a human 25 embryo, or developing such an embryo A person commits a crime if the person uses precursor cells taken from a human embryo or a human fetus, intending to create a human embryo, or develops an embryo so created. 30 Penalty: A fine of 600 penalty units or imprisonment for 10 years or both. page 7 Human Reproductive Technology Amendment (Prohibition of Human Cloning) Bill 2003 s. 8 Summary conviction penalty: A fine of 120 penalty units or imprisonment for 2 years or both. 53L. Offence -- heritable alterations to genome (1) A person commits a crime if -- 5 (a) the person alters the genome of a human cell in such a way that the alteration is heritable by descendants of the human whose cell was altered; and (b) in altering the genome, the person intended the 10 alteration to be heritable by descendants of the human whose cell was altered. Penalty: A fine of 600 penalty units or imprisonment for 10 years or both. Summary conviction penalty: A fine of 120 penalty 15 units or imprisonment for 2 years or both. (2) In this section -- "human cell" includes a human embryonal cell, a human fetal cell, human sperm or a human egg. 53M. Offence -- collecting a viable human embryo from 20 the body of a woman A person commits a crime if the person removes a human embryo from the body of a woman, intending to collect a viable human embryo. Penalty: A fine of 600 penalty units or imprisonment 25 for 10 years or both. Summary conviction penalty: A fine of 120 penalty units or imprisonment for 2 years or both. 53N. Offence -- creating a chimeric or hybrid embryo (1) A person commits a crime if the person creates a 30 chimeric embryo. page 8 Human Reproductive Technology Amendment (Prohibition of Human Cloning) Bill 2003 s. 8 (2) A person commits a crime if the person creates a hybrid embryo. (3) A person who commits an offence against this section is liable to a fine of 600 penalty units or imprisonment 5 for 10 years or both. Summary conviction penalty: A fine of 120 penalty units or imprisonment for 2 years or both. 53O. Offence -- placing of an embryo 10 (1) A person commits a crime if the person places a human embryo in an animal. (2) A person commits a crime if the person places a human embryo in the body of a human, other than in a woman's reproductive tract. 15 (3) A person commits a crime if the person places an animal embryo in the body of a human for any period of gestation. (4) A person who commits an offence against this section is liable to a fine of 600 penalty units or imprisonment 20 for 10 years or both. Summary conviction penalty: A fine of 120 penalty units or imprisonment for 2 years or both. 53P. Offence -- importing, exporting or placing a prohibited embryo 25 (1) A person commits a crime if the person imports a prohibited embryo into the State from a place outside Australia. (2) A person commits a crime if the person exports a prohibited embryo from the State to a place outside 30 Australia. page 9 Human Reproductive Technology Amendment (Prohibition of Human Cloning) Bill 2003 s. 8 (3) A person commits a crime if the person places a prohibited embryo in the body of a woman. (4) A person who commits an offence against this section is liable to a fine of 600 penalty units or imprisonment 5 for 10 years or both. Summary conviction penalty: A fine of 120 penalty units or imprisonment for 2 years or both. (5) In this section -- "prohibited embryo" means -- 10 (a) a human embryo created by a process other than the fertilisation of a human egg by human sperm; (b) a human embryo created outside the body of a woman, unless the intention of the person who 15 created the embryo was to attempt to achieve pregnancy in a particular woman; (c) a human embryo that contains genetic material provided by more than 2 persons; (d) a human embryo that has been developing 20 outside the body of a woman for a period of more than 14 days, excluding any period when development is suspended; (e) a human embryo created using precursor cells taken from a human embryo or a human fetus; 25 (f) a human embryo that contains a human cell (as defined in section 53L(2)) whose genome has been altered in such a way that the alteration is heritable by human descendants of the human whose cell was altered; 30 (g) a human embryo that was removed from the body of a woman by a person intending to collect a viable human embryo; or (h) a chimeric embryo or a hybrid embryo. page 10 Human Reproductive Technology Amendment (Prohibition of Human Cloning) Bill 2003 s. 8 53Q. Offence -- commercial trading in human eggs, human sperm or human embryos (1) A person commits a crime if the person gives or offers valuable consideration to another person for the supply 5 of a human egg, human sperm or a human embryo. (2) A person commits a crime if the person receives, or offers to receive, valuable consideration from another person for the supply of a human egg, human sperm or a human embryo. 10 (3) A person who commits an offence against this section is liable to a fine of 600 penalty units or imprisonment for 10 years or both. Summary conviction penalty: A fine of 120 penalty units or imprisonment for 2 years or both. 15 (4) In this section -- "reasonable expenses" -- (a) in relation to the supply of a human egg or human sperm includes, but is not limited to, expenses relating to the collection, storage or 20 transport of the egg or sperm; and (b) in relation to the supply of a human embryo -- (i) does not include any expenses incurred by a person before the time when the 25 embryo became an excess ART embryo; and (ii) includes, but is not limited to, expenses relating to the storage or transport of the embryo; 30 "valuable consideration", in relation to the supply of a human egg, human sperm or a human embryo by a person, includes any inducement, discount or priority in the provision of a service to the person, page 11 Human Reproductive Technology Amendment (Prohibition of Human Cloning) Bill 2003 s. 9 but does not include the payment of reasonable expenses incurred by the person in connection with the supply. Division 4 -- Review of Part 5 53R. Review of Part (1) The Minister must cause a review of the operation of this Part to be undertaken as soon as possible after 19 December 2004. (2) The review must take into account -- 10 (a) developments in technology in relation to assisted reproductive technology; (b) developments in medical research and scientific research and the potential therapeutic applications of such research; 15 (c) community standards; and (d) the applicability of establishing a national stem cell bank. (3) The review of this Part may be undertaken as part of the review of the Prohibition of Human Cloning Act 20 2002 of the Commonwealth mentioned in section 25 of that Act. ". 9. Section 53ZG amended Section 53ZG(2) is amended by inserting after "law" -- 25 " , Part 4A ". page 12 Human Reproductive Technology Amendment (Prohibition of Human Cloning) Bill 2003 s. 10 10. Sections 53ZP, 53ZQ and 53ZR amended Sections 53ZP(1), 53ZQ(1)(b) and (2) and 53ZR are each amended by inserting after "Part" -- " or Part 4A ".
[Index] [Search] [Download] [Related Items] [Help]