March 21, 2019

expert reaction to death of Baroness Mary Warnock

Reactions to the death of Baroness Mary Warnock.

Dr Jeremy Farrar, Director of Wellcome, said:

“Mary’s contribution to the field of embryology and medical research as a whole cannot be overstated. Almost four decades on, her leadership on human fertility and embryology continues to ensure that patients and researchers in the UK benefit from the best regulation worldwide. She always appreciated that difficult debates in society were integral to the future of medical research. Her legacy will continue to guide science, and benefit patients, for many years to come.”

Sally Cheshire, Chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), the UK fertility regulator, said:  

“We’re very saddened to hear about Baroness Mary Warnock’s death.    

“Mary Warnock was an exceptionally wise and practical moral philosopher whose pioneering work in both reproduction and educational special needs changed the policy landscape for millions of people. In the field of fertility she chaired the Warnock Committee, whose landmark 1984 report identified the need for principles and limits to govern fertility treatment and human embryo research in the UK. 

“It was through the ‘Warnock report’ and the consequent Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act that the HFEA was established to make sure patients could access safe, licensed fertility treatment in the UK.  

“Her work to balance the many different interests in this area for the good of patients and families are a true testament to her ethical commitment. As reproductive science and society face new and continually evolving challenges, the framework Mary Warnock set out in the 1980s still largely stands the test of time today.  

“We at the HFEA and the millions of people around the world who have been able to create their much longed-for families through regulated fertility treatment, and do so safely, would like to pay tribute to Mary Warnock’s scholarship, public service and wisdom and send our deepest condolences to her family and friends.”  

Professor Robin Lovell-Badge, Chair of Trustees at the Progress Educational Trust and Head of Stem Cell Biology and Developmental Genetics at the Francis Crick Institute, said:

“I was very saddened to learn of the passing of Baroness Mary Warnock, who played such a leading and critical role in establishing the UK’s legislation covering both research and clinical applications involving human embryos, and who was obviously a figure of great importance for the Progress Educational Trust as well as acting as one of our charity’s Patrons. She was never content with just the passing of the original Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act in 1990, and the creation of the HFEA. Instead, she took an active interest in the operation of this law, especially whenever it needed to be amended to allow for changes in science, clinical practice or public opinion. It was her foresight that led to robust but flexible regulations that deal with a sensitive area, and which are often the envy of other countries. She was always determined that “ignorance and prejudice should not be allowed to dictate the outcome” of legislation. We will greatly miss her clear and level-headed thinking, her wisdom and common sense, and her unfailing support.”

Dr Andy Greenfield, Programme Leader at the Medical Research Council, MRC Harwell, said:

“As chair of the HFEA’s License Committee for several years I was regularly reminded of one legacy of Mary Warnock: a regulatory system that allowed research to be performed on human embryos – up until 14 days – in order to support investigations of fundamental aspects of human biology. This research continues to be key to our future development of therapies and interventions in human disease. Much has been written about the ‘Warnock Committee’ and the difficult task before it: to offer a solution to accommodating diverse and competing ethical attitudes to human in vitro embryos into a workable governance model that commands public support. Mary Warnock’s expertise was essential in developing a solution to one of the most difficult challenges for anybody: to guide a deliberative process in an inter-disciplinary topic. And make no mistake: the science, ethics and governance of human embryo research touches on numerous difficult areas of human thought. It was a challenge to which she rose and for which she rightly will be remembered.

“I was lucky enough to see Mary Warnock speak in recent years on the topic of the 14-day rule and related matters – she was lucid and enlightening. There may, in future, be a 21st century version of the Warnock Committee, charged with delivering a new settlement for science and society in the coming decades, with emerging technologies and ethical frameworks to be considered. Whoever chairs such a committee will have very big shoes to fill.”

Dr Kathy Niakan, Group Leader, The Francis Crick Institute, said:

“I have tremendous admiration for Mary Warnock and her profoundly important work to develop the foundation of sensible regulation of human embryo treatment and responsible research in the UK. Many of us owe a huge debt of gratitude to Mary for the legendary work she has done to ensure IVF treatment and research is both tightly and sensibly regulated.”

Prof Alison Murdoch, Head of Newcastle Fertility Centre at Life, Newcastle University, said:

“Without her pragmatism and wisdom that resulted in the HFEAct, it is unlikely that the UK would still be a world leader in the legislation surrounding treatment and research related to human embryos. Thank you Mary.”

Mr Julian Hitchcock, Of Counsel, Bristows LLP, said:

“Mary Warnock leaves an indelible mark on the regulatory architecture, not only of IVF and human embryo research, but of human tissue.  Indeed, the principle of an arms-length licensing authority has been adopted in jurisdictions across the world.  Warnock was also the midwife to the so-called 14-day limit of human embryo culture.  Although the legitimacy of that restriction has waned with the advance of genetic understanding and social attitudes, which suggest a longer term, we should remember that securing any period in which to conduct research was a significant achievement for its time, and that immense new knowledge of scientific and clinical benefit has flowed from it. The HFE Act will (and must) be amended from time to time to address developments in science and society, but we may remain confident that the Warnock architecture will remain a model of its kind for many years to come.”

Steve Bates CEO of the UK Bioindustry Association, BIA, said:

“I first met Mary Warnock at Girton, when as a student, I interviewed her for the college magazine. Little did I understand then just how important her work was, and would prove to be, in framing the development of core parts of the UK life science sector. If ethics is a core part of the UK’s competitive advantage in life science then it is down in large part to the work, wisdom and judgement of Baroness Mary.

Prof Peter Braude, Emeritus Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, King’s College London (KCL), said:

“This is very sad news. Mary was such an inspiring person who safely and wisely guided this country through a highly controversial area of our discipline; the practical application of assisted reproduction and the necessary human embryo research that accompanies it. Besides being a thoroughly nice and approachable individual, she was a formidable chairperson, able to listen to all sides of the arguments even when entrenched and contrary to her own ideas and principles, to keep control of her committee when the debate became heated and difficult and to deliver her ground-breaking report in good time as planned. That report has stood as the bedrock on which our subsequent legislation was founded, and which has influenced ethical debate and sensible regulation around the world. Her thinking and speaking was always so precise, and her questioning deep and revealing.

“I was privileged to have been asked to give evidence to her Enquiry, and subsequently shared many speaking platforms with her, on controversies in assisted reproduction debates. I shall remember her latterly sitting quietly in our garden (she loved gardening) and enjoying a quiet chat with her about the issues of the day over a cup of tea. I shall dearly miss her gentleness, oratory and common sense; something which is not at all common – but she had oodles of it.”

Prof Sarah Franklin, Chair and Head of the Department of Sociology and Wellcome Trust Senior Investigator and Director, Reproductive Sociology Research Group, University of Cambridge, said:

“Mary was a giant and an astonishingly productive, generous, wise and instrumental figure. Against considerable odds she held out for a more humane, pragmatic, decent and kind society in which people’s relationships with each other, and dependence on support from social institutions of all kinds, would bind us in a unity that elevates us all. She had the very greatest optimism about what she called the moral idea of society at the same time she had an equally deep respect for the obstacles to social good. She used her piercing wit and agile mind to both lead on the issues she cared about and expose the hypocrisies and mythologies she saw around her. Despite her many titles she remained conspicuously modest in her manner as well as her lifestyle, but there was nothing remotely modest about her ambitions for us all and our future. She wanted all of us to try harder to create a society in which tolerance of difference could be combined with a unity of purpose in the name of measuring our progress by the care we take of others. I treasure every conversation I had with this remarkable scholar, philosopher, mother, politician, writer, and friend. I will miss her deeply and know her many friends, colleagues and family will greatly mourn her loss, for we have lost a truly towering presence in all our lives.”

Prof Jim Smith, Director, Wellcome Science Review, said:

“I was involved in a few PET meetings at which she spoke, and she was a towering figure. Her work with Anne McLaren on human embryology was of inestimable importance.”

Sandy Starr, Communications Manager at the Progress Educational Trust, said:

 ‘We at the Progress Educational Trust were privileged to have Baroness Mary Warnock as our Patron. She was a force to be reckoned with,  and was always happy to encourage free and frank public debate about the field she did so much to shape and influence. She was a keynote speaker at our 2016 Annual Conference, where – despite being well into her 90s – she spoke brilliantly and captivatingly without notes for more than half an hour (she even refused to sit down!), about the the implications of the latest scientific research for the 14-day limit on human embryo research (a limit she originally proposed). More recently, we were delighted to see her awarded a Dan David Prize for her enduring contribution to bioethics. She will be much missed.’

Fiona Watt, Executive Chair of the Medical Research Council, said:

“Baroness Warnock was a legend.  The report she produced on human fertilisation and embryology 35 years ago gave the UK a regulatory system that  has enabled researchers to develop new techniques and treatments within an ethical framework. The influence of the Warnock report continues to guide research both here and in many other countries around the world.”

Professor Adam Balen, Leeds Fertility and former Chair of the British Fertility Society, said:

“It is with great sadness that we receive the news that Dame Mary Warnock has died. Mary Warnock was an exuberant philosopher of great intellect who lead the foundation of the Human Fertilisation and embryology Authority (HFEA) and set the ground rules which have enabled the UK to be the foremost nation in the development of assisted conception technologies. This facilitated tight yet permissive regulation not only for the treatment of subfertility but also to explore and treat other conditions such as genetically-inherited disease. Though they may not know it, her contributions continue to benefit the thousands embarking upon fertility treatment each day in the UK.”

Professor Martin Johnson, Emeritus Professor of Reproductive Sciences, University of Cambridge, said:

“A sad loss of a remarkable woman who changed the face of scientific regulation in the UK. It was my privilege to know Mary for many years and although we did not always agree on everything, we always respected one another. A true model of how to behave academically!”

Prof Allan Pacey, Professor of Andrology, University of Sheffield and Trustee of the Progress Educational Trust, said:

“It was my reading of the “Report of the Committee of Inquiry into Human Fertilisation and Embryology” as an undergraduate back in 1984 that stimulated my passion for working in this area and for that I will be forever grateful to Baroness Warnock. She had an amazing mind and I suspect that she has touched the lives of many many people around the world because of her work in chairing this committee but also in the multitude of other roles she had in public life. I cannot claim to have known her well, but I admired her greatly. She will be sorely missed.”

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