The Human Assisted Reproductive Technology (HART) Act includes in its guiding principles the importance of taking account of the needs, values and beliefs of Māori, and the different ethical, spiritual, and cultural perspectives in society. In this talk I examine the extent to which this has occurred in the debate on embryo research, and the nature of the input provided by religious groups.

I argue that religious input will only be able to contribute to public debate when it seeks common ground with others. I also argue that religious perspectives tend to bring to the debate a cautionary perspective that may have implications for the source of embryos to be used in research, and the extent of manipulations on embryos.

The dialogue model espoused by Māori is seen as a possible way forward.

Speaker: Emeritus Professor Gareth Jones