How Can the Law Keep Up? The Challenges in Regulating Health Innovations through the Lens of Embryo Research

Human embryo research can provide important scientific insights to enhance medical knowledge, improve health care and advance human flourishing. This research also poses unresolved legal and ethical questions. Since 2002, Australia has had legislation in place that limits the use of human embryos for research through strict licensing conditions. However, there has been no formal review of these laws in almost 15 years and the scientific landscape has shifted dramatically. The development of stem cell-based embryo models that closely resemble human embryos, and culturing techniques that allow human embryos to be grown to potentially beyond 14-days post-fertilisation, is pushing the limits of the current legislative framework. We argue that a comprehensive review is needed to address recent scientific developments and to better account for contemporary public values.