Dim Chance for Global Cloning Ban: Diplomats Cite U.S. Overreach for Stalemate on Banning Reproductive Cloning

6/2/2004

From: Nathan Kommers, 202-481-1221, or Ann Pincus, 202-481-1234, both of the Center for Public Integrity

WASHINGTON, June 2 -- Deep divisions within the international community, fed by religious views, economic interests and U.S. domestic politics, are hampering efforts to outlaw human reproductive cloning worldwide. Nearly all countries agree that reproductive cloning, or the creation of an identical human being through asexual reproductive methods, should be banned. But fewer than 30 of the 191 states recognized by the United Nations have outlawed researchers from attempting the procedure, according to UNESCO.

More than 150 countries have no law on the books that bars reproductive cloning, including many-like the United States-which have the scientific resources and facilities necessary to produce a human clone. In the absence of either national laws or an international agreement outlawing the procedure, researchers are developing techniques around the world-in South America and Asia- that could be used for reproductive cloning. In Europe, several countries have adopted laws banning reproductive cloning, but research continues, while in Israel, which has adopted a five year ban on the procedure, scientists work with little oversight and can easily transport the products of their research abroad.

Despite the ongoing scientific advances, there has been little progress on adopting international agreements outlawing the procedure, according to dozens of diplomats contacted by the Center for Public Integrity. The global rift on the issue was clearly evident when the U.N. General Assembly's Legal Committee voted last November to delay any decision on the issue, after a contentious debate that was marked by a flurry of lobbying.

To read this, and other new reports on cloning efforts in Europe, Asia, South America and Israel, log on to http://www.publicintegrity.org.