Does therapeutic cloning need regulation?

At the time of writing, the UK House of Lords is in the middle of debating the Human Reproductive Cloning Bill. So far, the discussion has been largely calm and considered and the Lords seem united in their opposition to human reproductive cloning. But a few peers have voiced concerns that GLINK(#:2343, therapeutic cloning)} - creating cloned embryos for research and therapies - will remain unregulated after the bill has been passed.

As we report in this week's BioNews, the bill does not seek to make the creation of cloned human embryos illegal: only their transfer to the womb of a woman. Speaking from the opposition benches, Earl Howe said he was 'disquieted by the lack of regulation of therapeutic cloning'. So should we be worried that anyone creating cloned embryos can do so without fear of prosecution?

The way some peers were talking, you could be forgiven for thinking that Pandora's box has been opened and that, within no time, UK scientists will be producing cloned human embryos for research. The news from Advanced Cell Technologies (ACT) does demonstrate that this research is forging ahead, but so far no researchers in the UK have voiced their intention to start therapeutic cloning. Should they follow ACT's lead and decide to start work in this area, such scientists would certainly have no legal bars on what they could do. But the law isn't the only way that research is regulated.

As we can see from the scientists at ACT - who are also subject to no statutory legislation - there is a strong desire to be open about research findings and to maintain public support for them. This need for public approval in an area of research which is subject to intense media scrutiny means that responsible self-regulation, in the absence of statutory control, is an attractive option to researchers in the field. Any UK scientist who wants to work in this area over the next few months is likely to prefer to conduct their research according to existing embryo research rules than to risk the wrath of the media by going it alone. Scientists don't carry out research to see what they can 'get away with'. They want to get on with the job of developing therapies for human diseases in a supportive public and political environment which recognises the value of their efforts.