Edwards in favour of principle of human cloning

According to a story printed in yesterday's Sunday Telegraph, Professor Robert Edwards, who worked with the late Patrick Steptoe to pioneer the development of IVF in the late 1970s, is in favour of human cloning.

The newspaper says that Edwards would back the creation of human clones if it could be shown that the procedure was safe. Currently, the 'horrific' abnormalities that occur in many cloned animals should preclude the use of cloning for reproductive purposes, but if these problems could be overcome, he says that 'the needs of childless couples should take precedence over other considerations'.

Edwards told the paper that he had spoken with Dr Severino Antinori at a recent conference, and been told that a number of clone pregnancies were underway. He said that he told Antinori his own opinion, saying that he wouldn't object to the cloning of a child 'provided all the embryos after cloning are as normal as those after normal conception'. But he added: 'He can't say that at the moment. No-one can.'