Australia Lifts Ban on Cloning (12/6/2006)
The Australian House of Representatives approved legislation that lifts a previous ban on cloning human embryos
for stem cell research.
The bill drafted by Senator Kay Patterson, former Health Minister, would be introduced in 6 months after
health and science authorities outlined rules for egg donation and research licensing. The bill is also
expected to be reviewed in 3 years to determine if it is liberal enough.
Prime Minister John Howard and Labor leader Kevin Rudd were both against repealing the ban. They each
gave strong speeches. Mr. Howard said "I think what we're talking about here is a moral absolute
and that is why I cannot support the legislation. I don't think the science has shifted enough
to warrant the parliament changing its view, and for that reason I'm going to vote against the bill."
Australia's original law was passed in 2002, and allowed scientists to extract stem cells from embryo's
left over after IVF programs, but banning cell cloning.
The new legislation allows therapeutic cloning, were a skin cell is inserted into an unfertilized human
egg, to produce an embryo that they can harvest stem cells from. Stem cells are the bodies master
cells, and can be coaxed into becoming any type of tissue. Scientists hope to be able to use this
cell, along with progenitor cells to clone tissues that may need replacing like skin, organs, nerve cells,
and even bone.
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