Division Description Changes — Bills — Mitochondrial Donation Law Reform (Maeve's Law) Bill 2021; in Committee — 9th Feb 2022

Change	Division
senate vote 2022-02-09#6 Edited by mackay staff on 2022-02-11 15:25:26	Title Bills — Mitochondrial Donation Law Reform (Maeve's Law) Bill 2021; in Committee Mitochondrial Donation Law Reform (Maeve’s Law) Bill 2021 - in Committee - Definition of mitochondrial donation licence Description ~~<p class="speaker">The Chair</p>~~ <p>The next question is that section 47, in item 103 of schedule 1, stand as printed.</p> <p class="italic"> <i>A division having been called and the bells being rung—</i></p> ~~<p class="speaker">Zed Seselja</p>~~ <p>Madam Chair, I don't think one-minute bells are appropriate. I am told there were some senators who were hoping to get down here for this vote who weren't at the last one. I request that there be four-minute bells.</p> ~~<p class="speaker">The Chair</p>~~ <p>I advise the Senate that I did seek the guidance of the whips, and they informed me it would be one-minute bells. If it's the wish of the Senate, we will ring them for four minutes. Is that the wish of the Senate? It is. The question is that section 47 in item 103 of schedule 1 stand as printed.</p> ~~<p></p>~~ The majority voted in favour of a motion that section 47 in item 103 of schedule 1 stand as printed. In other words, they voted to keep that section unchanged. This was a [free vote](https://peo.gov.au/understand-our-parliament/how-parliament-works/parliament-at-work/crossing-the-floor/) (also known as a conscience vote), which means our senators voted according to their own beliefs rather than strictly along party lines. ### Text of Section 47 > 47 Interaction with the Gene Technology Act 2000 > *> (1) A mitochondrial** donation technique is taken not to be gene technology for the purposes of the Gene Technology Act 2000 when used as authorised or purportedly authorised by a mitochondrial donation licence.* > > (2) In this section: > >> mitochondrial donation licence includes a purported mitochondrial donation licence. ### What does this bill do? According to the [bills digest](https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/bd/bd2021a/21bd065): *> 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 cur*e 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 reprodu*ction, 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](https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/bd/bd2021a/21bd065).

~~The Chair~~
The next question is that section 47, in item 103 of schedule 1, stand as printed.
 A division having been called and the bells being rung—
~~Zed Seselja~~
Madam Chair, I don't think one-minute bells are appropriate. I am told there were some senators who were hoping to get down here for this vote who weren't at the last one. I request that there be four-minute bells.
~~The Chair~~
I advise the Senate that I did seek the guidance of the whips, and they informed me it would be one-minute bells. If it's the wish of the Senate, we will ring them for four minutes. Is that the wish of the Senate? It is. The question is that section 47 in item 103 of schedule 1 stand as printed.
~~~~
The majority voted in favour of a motion that section 47 in item 103 of schedule 1 stand as printed. In other words, they voted to keep that section unchanged.
This was a [free vote](https://peo.gov.au/understand-our-parliament/how-parliament-works/parliament-at-work/crossing-the-floor/) (also known as a conscience vote), which means our senators voted according to their own beliefs rather than strictly along party lines.
### Text of Section 47
> *47 Interaction with the Gene Technology Act 2000*
>
> *(1) A mitochondrial donation technique is taken not to be gene technology for the purposes of the Gene Technology Act 2000 when used as authorised or purportedly authorised by a mitochondrial donation licence.*
>
> *(2) In this section:*
>
>> **mitochondrial donation licence** *includes a purported mitochondrial donation licence.*
### What does this bill do?
According to the [bills digest](https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/bd/bd2021a/21bd065):
> *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](https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/bd/bd2021a/21bd065).