9th Feb 2022, 8:09 PM – Senate Mitochondrial Donation Law Reform (Maeve’s Law) Bill 2021 - in Committee - Definition of gene technology

The majority voted against an amendment introduced by NSW Senator Deborah O'Neill (Labor), which means it failed. This amendment would have changed the definition of "gene technology."

Speaking in opposition to the amendment, Queensland Senator Murray Watt (Labor) explained that:

This amendment would change the definition of 'gene technology' to include mitochondrial donation. This would, in practice, require the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator to become involved in the regulation of mitochondrial donation.

This was a free vote (also known as a conscience vote), which means our senators voted according to their own beliefs rather than strictly along party lines.

Amendment text

(1) Schedule 1, page 3 (before line 3), before the heading specifying Prohibition of Human Cloning for Reproduction Act 2002, insert:

Gene Technology Act 2000

1A Subsection 10(1) (definition of gene technology)

Repeal the definition, substitute:

gene technology means:

(a) any technique for the modification of genes or other genetic material; and

(b) a mitochondrial donation technique (within the meaning of Part 2 of the Research Involving Human Embryos Act 2002);

but does not include:

(c) sexual reproduction; or

(d) homologous recombination; or

(e) any other technique specified in the regulations for the purposes of this paragraph.

What does this bill do?

According to the bills digest:

Mitochondrial disease is a group of conditions that can cause serious health issues and, in severe cases, can cause death in childhood. There is no known cure for mitochondrial disease.

Mitochondrial donation is an assisted reproductive technology (ART) that can assist women to avoid passing mitochondrial DNA disease to their biological child. This technology is not a cure for mitochondrial disease but is rather a way to prevent children from inheriting mitochondria that can cause mitochondrial disease.

Under the current legislative framework, mitochondrial donation is illegal under the Prohibition of Human Cloning for Reproduction Act 2002 (Cth) and the Research Involving Human Embryos Act 2002 (Cth). The Mitochondrial Donation Law Reform (Maeve’s Law) Bill 2021 (the Bill) amends relevant Acts and associated Regulations to make mitochondrial donation legal for research, training and human reproductive purposes. The overall aim is for women at risk of passing on mitochondrial disease to have reproductive options for biological children without the increased risk of their child having mitochondrial disease.

Primarily the Bill makes changes to ensure that it is no longer an offence to create, for the purposes of reproduction, and under the relevant mitochondrial donation licences, a human embryo that:

• contains the genetic material of more than two people and
• contains heritable changes to the genome.

Read more in the bills digest.