Britain Extends Ban On Human
Therapeutic Cloning
RTos 25.06.99 00:44
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By Patricia Reaney
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain extended a ban on human cloning Thursday and said an
independent advisory group would be set up to assess the benefits and risks of the
technology.
Tessa Jowell, the minister of public health, reaffirmed the government's opposition to
human reproductive cloning but said it would have to consider carefully whether to allow
therapeutic cloning research to improve treatments for serious diseases.
"We believe that more evidence is required for such research, its potential benefits
and risks, and that account should be taken of alternative approaches that might achieve
the same ends," she said, in a decision which took British media and health pressure
groups by surprise.
Jowell said Britain's Chief Medical Officer, Professor Liam Donaldson, would set up the
advisory group to review research on cloning and consult experts in Britain and abroad.
The group is expected to report its findings early next year.
Cloning of human embryos for reproduction or research is forbidden under the 1990 Human
Fertilization and Embryology Act but a panel of medical and scientific experts had
recommended restrictions be eased to allow research on embryos to create cloned tissue or
organs.
The government had been expected to follow their lead.
A joint report by the Human Genetic Advisory Commission (HGAC) and the Human Fertilization
and Embryology Authority (HFEA), which licenses the country's fertility clinics, had
suggested limited research should be allowed.
The creation of Dolly the cloned sheep and advances in cloning techniques had sparked a
debate on how to regulate the technology and tackle ethical issues.
Donaldson said the joint report did not provide enough information to make a decision on
human therapeutic cloning. "We have to have an objective look at what the potential
benefits and downsides are," he told a news briefing.
"There is a lot of public concern about this and we need to proceed very
carefully," he added.
One of the areas the experts will look into is the use of stem cells, which have not
differentiated and can grow into a number of different kinds of tissue, to treat diseases.
Donaldson denied that the delay would lead to a brain drain of top scientific talent to
other countries where research is less restricted.
The joint report by the HFEA and the HGAC, which was set up in December 1996 to advise the
government on new developments in human genetics, analyzed results of a consultation
exercise on cloning last year. Up to 80 percent of the public were against reproductive
cloning.