Government to submit legislation to allow human
cloning for research

By EMMA ROSS

LONDON (AP)--The government said Wednesday that it
would introduce legislation to amend a ban on human
cloning to allow scientific research on embryo cells,
raising the possibility Britain could be the first
country to specifically authorize cloning from humans.
The move, which does not endorse creating cloned
babies, came in response to a report published
Wednesday by a government-commissioned panel led by
the country's chief medical officer.
"We're talking about research at this stage, not
treatment," Dr. Liam Donaldson, the medical officer,
cautioned. "There is major, major medical potential,
but we need medical research to see whether this
potential can be realized."
While many countries are working on laws to ban human
cloning, several others are considering the prospect
of allowing its limited use for research into the
treatment of disease. Ethical concerns have tempered
the pace in many countries.
Britain allows scientists to conduct research on
embryos up to 14 days old for fertility, congenital
and other disorders, but does not permit them to be
used for the study of diseases acquired in adulthood.
The cloning of humans either to create babies or
embryos for research was banned in 1990.
The report recommended the 14-day law remain and that
legislation be introduced to ban hybrid animal-human
embryos and to reaffirm the nation's ban on creating
cloned babies.
The reason for the proposed change is the potential of
what are known as embryonic "stem cells," the parent
cells of the human body that go on to form most types
of cells and tissues.
An embryo is essentially a ball of stem cells that
evolves into a fetus when the stem cells start
specializing to create a nervous system, spine and
other features--at about 14 days. Scientists hope that
by extracting the stem cells from the embryo before
they start to specialize, their growth can be directed
in a lab to become any desired cell or tissue type for
transplant.
The hope is that one day it will be possible to grow
neurons to replace nerve cells in a brain killed by
Parkinson's disease, skin to repair burns, and
pancreatic cells to produce insulin for diabetics.
Scientists would create a clone of a sick patient by
removing the nucleus of a donor egg and replacing it
with that of a cell from the patient. The egg would be
induced to divide and start growing into an embryo.
The cloned cells would be genetically identical to the
patient's and therefore theoretically overcome
problems of transplant rejection, which happens
because the immune system fights foreign tissue.
Experts say the technique could prevent or cure scores
of diseases and would touch nearly every field of
medicine.
The government said it recognized that the creation of
embryos by cloning will be unacceptable to some
people.
"However, we have assessed carefully the scientific
and ethical case presented in the report and conclude
that such research should be allowed, but only under
the very stringent safeguards set by the 1990 Act,"
the government said.
Since human stem cells were isolated in a lab at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison for the first time in
1998, advances in the field have come rapidly.
In June, scientists reported converting bone marrow
cells into liver cells, offering hope that cells from
adults can be made to regress and redirect themselves
to form different types, without the need to create an
embryo.
"That is the ultimate goal," Donaldson said.
"Scientists believe research in embryonic stem cells
is vital to getting that breakthrough."
While the potential benefits of stem cell therapies
with cloning are widely recognized, opponents say no
advance is worth research on embryos.
Opponents were quick to denounce the report, saying it
opens the door to cloned babies and takes no account
of the latest advances, which suggest adult cells
might be able to be reprogrammed to become other types
of cells.
The group Movement Against the Cloning of Humans said
the newest advances--which emerged after the report
was completed in May--make the recommendations "almost
useless." The group called for a new investigation
before legislation is submitted to Parliament.
Donaldson said the potential for adult cells to be
redirected is limited.
Lord Winston, a fertility specialist and ardent
campaigner for stem cell research, said the evidence
the work will be beneficial is so overwhelming that it
would be unethical not to pursue it.
"I don't think nature herself regards the embryo as
sacrosanct," Winston said. "A fetus is different.
Embryos are destroyed in menstrual periods, in
miscarriages. An embryo doesn't have rights. An embryo
is 20 cells with potential."
"I am pro-life," he said. "This is to protect and
fulfill healthy human life."
The vote on the legislation is expected in Parliament
this fall. Individual members will be allowed to vote
according to their consciences, instead of being made
to follow their party's line.
In the United States, President Clinton issued an
executive order in March 1997 banning the use of
federal funds for human cloning.
Clinton called on privately funded scientists to halt
human cloning research voluntarily, but did not order
a ban on independent research.
Two states--California and Rhode Island--have enacted
temporary bans on human cloning, pending further
study.
Michigan permanently banned human cloning efforts in
June 1998. Several other states are considering bills
banning human cloning, and several versions of human
cloning bans are pending in Congress.


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