Maeve’s Law: Motherhood and Mitochondrial Donation in Australia

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On 30 March 2022, the Australian Parliament passed a bill allowing for a clinical trial of the assisted reproductive technology, mitochondrial donation, to be undertaken. This makes Australia the second country in the world to legislate to allow this technology to proceed, after the UK.  In this presentation, I explain what the technology involves, why it is legislatively significant, and discuss some of the claims made about it in the process of its legalisation in Australia and the UK. This contributes to a broader reflection on the ethical issues raised by the technology, particularly around the meaning and significance of genetic parenthood, access to third-party reproductive materials such as human eggs, and the future of inheritable changes to the human genome.

Bio: Catherine Mills is Professor of Bioethics and the Director of the Monash Bioethics Centre, Monash University. Her research addresses ethical, social and regulatory issues in human reproduction, especially at the intersection with genomics and other innovative health technologies. She is currently leading research projects funded by the ARC and the MRFF and contributing to projects funded by the NHMRC, the ARC and other funders.

The Judith Lumley Centre lunchtime seminars are free and open to all.  Held on the first Wednesday of every month from February to December. These seminars showcase the work of national and international academics/researchers.

Find out more about the School of Nursing and Midwifery and the Judith Lumley Centre