UN Report: Human Cloning Ban Needed
Pastor Dale Morgan
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Nov 10, 2:52 PM EST
*UN Report: Human Cloning Ban Needed*
LONDON (AP) -- The international community faces a stark choice: outlaw
human cloning or prepare for the creation of cloned humans, U.N.
researchers said Saturday.
Previous attempts to reach a binding worldwide treaty foundered over
divisions on whether to outlaw all cloning or permit cloning of cells
for research.
The best solution may be to ban human cloning, but to allow countries to
conduct strictly controlled therapeutic research, including stem cell
research, according to the report from the Japan-based United Nations
University Institute for Advanced Studies.
Almost all countries oppose human cloning and more than 50 nations have
introduced laws banning it. But lack of binding global legislation gives
scientists an opening to create human clones in countries where bans do
not exist.
"Failure to outlaw reproductive cloning means it is just a matter of
time until cloned individuals share the planet," said Brendan Tobin, a
human rights lawyer who co-authored the report.
"If failure to compromise continues, the world community must accept
responsibility and ensure that any cloned individual receives full human
rights protection," he said.
Cloning research proponents argue it offers great hope for producing
replacement tissue and the potential for a cure for diseases such as
cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and diabetes.
The report recommends permitting cloning cells for research - but not
cloning aimed at duplicating a person or animal . It also calls for
strict controls to prevent the uncontrolled production and destruction
of embryos.