Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill — Testing for gender-related illness — 19 May 2008 at 21:45

The majority of MPs voted against tightening the provisions for when the sex of an embryo could be established, under a license from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990.[1]

When the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill is passed, it would be possible to establish the sex of an embryo in a case where there is a particular risk that any resulting child will have or develop:[2]

  • a gender-related serious physical or mental disability,
  • a gender-related serious illness, or
  • any other gender-related serious medical condition

The proposal would have changed these conditions to:[3]

  • a gender-related physical or mental disability which is life-threatening or severely impairs their quality of life,
  • a gender-related serious illness which is life-threatening or severely impairs their quality of life, or
  • any other gender-related serious medical condition which is life-threatening or severely impairs their quality of life

but the original words were kept.

Debate in Parliament | Source |

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Party Summary

Votes by party, red entries are votes against the majority for that party.

What is Tell? '+1 tell' means that in addition one member of that party was a teller for that division lobby.

What are Boths? An MP can vote both aye and no in the same division. The boths page explains this.

What is Turnout? This is measured against the total membership of the party at the time of the vote.

PartyMajority (No)Minority (Aye)BothTurnout
Con32 101 (+2 tell)070.3%
DUP0 6066.7%
Independent1 0020.0%
Lab239 (+2 tell) 24075.5%
LDem39 15187.3%
PC2 0066.7%
SDLP1 0033.3%
SNP3 2083.3%
Total:317 148174.4%

Rebel Voters - sorted by party

MPs for which their vote in this division differed from the majority vote of their party. You can see all votes in this division, or every eligible MP who could have voted in this division

Sort by: Name | Constituency | Party | Vote

NameConstituencyPartyVote
John BercowBuckinghamwhilst Con (front bench)no
Tim BoswellDaventryCon (front bench)no
Douglas CarswellHarwichCon (front bench)no
James ClappisonHertsmereCon (front bench)no
Greg ClarkTunbridge WellsCon (front bench)no
Geoffrey Clifton-BrownCotswoldCon (front bench)no
David CurrySkipton and RiponCon (front bench)no
Stephen DorrellCharnwoodCon (front bench)no
David GaukeSouth West HertfordshireCon (front bench)no
Bernard JenkinNorth EssexCon (front bench)no
Robert KeySalisburyCon (front bench)no
Greg KnightEast YorkshireCon (front bench)no
Eleanor LaingEpping ForestCon (front bench)no
Jacqui LaitBeckenhamCon (front bench)no
Oliver LetwinWest DorsetCon (front bench)no
Julian LewisNew Forest EastCon (front bench)no
Andrew MacKayBracknellCon (front bench)no
Anne McIntoshVale of YorkCon (front bench)no
Andrew MurrisonWestburyCon (front bench)no
George OsborneTattonCon (front bench)no
James PaiceSouth East CambridgeshireCon (front bench)no
Grant ShappsWelwyn HatfieldCon (front bench)no
Nicholas SoamesMid SussexCon (front bench)no
Anthony SteenTotnesCon (front bench)no
Hugo SwireEast DevonConno
Andrew TyrieChichesterCon (front bench)no
Shailesh VaraNorth West CambridgeshireCon (front bench)no
Peter ViggersGosportCon (front bench)no
Theresa VilliersChipping BarnetCon (front bench)no
Ben WallaceLancaster and WyreCon (front bench)no
Tim YeoSouth SuffolkCon (front bench)no
George YoungNorth West HampshireCon (front bench)no
John CummingsEasingtonLab (minister)aye
Jim CunninghamCoventry SouthLab (minister)aye
Tony CunninghamWorkingtonLab (minister)aye
David DrewStroudLab (minister)aye
Jim FitzpatrickPoplar and Canning TownLab (minister)aye
Helen GoodmanBishop AucklandLab (minister)aye
Gerald KaufmanManchester, GortonLab (minister)aye
Sadiq KhanTootingLab (minister)aye
Peter KilfoyleLiverpool, WaltonLabaye
Gordon MarsdenBlackpool SouthLabaye
Thomas McAvoyRutherglen and Hamilton WestLab (minister)aye
George MudieLeeds EastLab (minister)aye
Denis MurphyWansbeckLab (minister)aye
Greg PopeHyndburnLab (minister)aye
Steve PoundEaling NorthLab (minister)aye
Bridget PrenticeLewisham EastLab (minister)aye
Andy ReedLoughboroughLab (minister)aye
Frank RoyMotherwell and WishawLab (minister)aye
Mohammad SarwarGlasgow CentralLab (minister)aye
Marsha SinghBradford WestLab (minister)aye
David TaylorNorth West LeicestershireLab (minister)aye
Mark ToddSouth DerbyshireLab (minister)aye
Derek TwiggHaltonLab (minister)aye
Mike WoodBatley and SpenLabaye
Danny AlexanderInverness, Nairn, Badenoch and StrathspeyLDemaye
Norman BakerLewesLDem (front bench)aye
Annette BrookeMid Dorset and North PooleLDem (front bench)aye
Paul BurstowSutton and CheamLDem (front bench)aye
Lorely BurtSolihullLDem (front bench)aye
Edward DaveyKingston and SurbitonLDem (front bench)aye
Tim FarronWestmorland and LonsdaleLDem (front bench)aye
Mike HancockPortsmouth SouthLDem (front bench)aye
Simon HughesNorth Southwark and BermondseyLDem (front bench)aye
Greg MulhollandLeeds North WestLDem (front bench)aye
Paul RowenRochdaleLDem (front bench)aye
John ThursoCaithness, Sutherland and Easter RossLDem (front bench)aye
Mark WilliamsCeredigionLDem (front bench)aye
Roger WilliamsBrecon and RadnorshireLDem (front bench)aye
Richard Younger-RossTeignbridgeLDem (front bench)aye
Bob RussellColchesterLDem (front bench)both
Stewart HosieDundee EastSNP (front bench)aye
Angus MacNeilNa h-Eileanan an IarSNP (front bench)aye

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