Britain Urged To End Cloning Ban
APO 08.12.98 22:38
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By EMMA ROSS
Associated Press Writer
LONDON (AP) -- To keep up with advances in the United States,
Britain should permit research into the cloning of human embryos
to create replacement organs, a government panel of scientists
recommended Tuesday.
The commission said Britain should maintain its ban on cloning to
create babies, but some scientists condemned the panel's
findings, saying they would open the door to the cloning of
complete human beings.
The panel of British scientists said American successes in
growing "master cells" of human tissues from an embryo
have huge potential for new medical treatments, possibly even the
eventual creation of replacement hearts and other organs.
The panel, created by the government in January to review cloning
policy, said Britain should overturn its current ban on research
into using human embryos to develop replacement tissues.
Such techniques "could be of great benefit to seriously ill
people," said Sir Colin Campbell, chairman of the Human
Genetics Advisory Commission.
The Department of Health will respond to the panel's
recommendations early next year.
British law allows embryos less than 14 days old to be used only
in research into infertility and congenital disease. It bans
research into human reproductive cloning.
The United States bans the use of public funds for embryo
research, but in November a privately funded laboratory announced
it had succeeded in growing master cells from human fetal
material using cloning techniques.
Scientists have since recommended to Congress that the ban on
using public funds be lifted.
Harry Griffin, the creator of the famed Dolly the sheep, the
first cloned adult mammal, applauded the panel's recommendations.
"The use of cloning in cell therapy promises to provide
radical new treatments for a number of common diseases like
Parkinson's, diabetes and strokes," he said.
But Patrick Dixon, author of "Futurewise," a book which
warns of the dangers of unrestrained research, said: "This
is the perfect Christmas present for those who want to press
ahead with human cloning."
Last week, U.N. officials called for a universal code of ethics
for cloning and genetic engineering.