UK House of Lords approves three-parent baby technique

The UK House of Lords has passed the amendment on “three-parent” in-vitro fertilization techniques that enable the creation of babies with healthy genes from one father and two mothers, following the House of Commons. The House of Lords voted by 280 votes to 48 on Tuesday evening, the Guardian said. Britain has become the first country in the world to permit “three-parent” in-vitro fertilization technique. If the law becomes effective in October, the first babies could be born next autumn.

The “three-parent law” allows a mother with defective mitochondria to receive healthy one from a donor for IVF procedures. Faulty mitochondria can cause a child to suffer problems in the brain, heart, eyesight, and muscles.

UK hospitals can apply for three-parent IVF procedure with the amendment from this autumn. Newcastle University has already started offering women ￡500 to become "second mothers" to three-parent babies.

Ethical controversies are still going on. While proponents claim that the amendment is part of the existing Human Fertilization and Embryology Act, opponents argue that the safety of the technique has not proven yet. Fifty lawmakers of the European Parliament sent a letter to British Prime Minister David Cameron to repeal the amendment that undermines human dignity.