Italian PM urges consultations on human cloning
Reuters World Report
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By Amelia Torres
BRUSSELS, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Massimo
d'Alema on Thursday called for urgent discussions on genetic
engineering after the European Patent Office granted a patent
which could result in the cloning of humans.
"There is considerable concern in public opinion regarding
the use of biotechnology for unacceptable manipulation;
manipulation which is unacceptable in ethical and legal terms,"
d'Alema said after talks with European Commission President
Romano Prodi on a range of EU issues.
D'Alema told a news conference he called for "immediate
legal consultations" on the issue and asked the Commission to
look into all possible courses of action.
The Munich-based office, which is not part of the EU,
granted a patent on altering cells and human embryos to
Edinburgh University last December.
This week it acknowledged it had made a mistake by
overlooking the patent's potential use on humans.
But the discovery caused an uproar among European
governments and environmental activists.
Ministers in Germany and Italy have criticised the EPO
decision as legally and ethically wrong and said they were
considering an appeal.
European patents are requested through the EPO and then
issued by national patent offices. From July 30 they will be
subject to a European directive on the protection of
biotechnological inventions.
Once this happens any national government could ban any
patents found to be in violation of EU law.
Edinburgh University and an Australian biotech firm, Stem
Cell Sciences, applied to the Munich office for a patent to
alter genetically the cells of mammals, which could then be used
to create embryos.
Although the office confessed to a mistake, only a formal
protest can reverse the decision.
EU governments agreed in 1998 rules on patents for
biotechnological inventions after an emotional debate which
raged for almost 10 years. Critics of genetic engineering raised
fears of the "Frankenstein monsters" that might be created.
The rules allow patents for inventions such as genetically
modified tomatoes or animals genetically altered for medical
research purposes. But they specifically ban procedures to clone
human beings and the commercial use of human embryos.