Government response to cloning decision

The Department of Health has announced that new legislation to ban reproductive cloning will be introduced in Parliament next week. Speaking on Friday, the Secretary of State for Health, Alan Milburn, said that there will be a bill with the specific and singular intention of making reproductive cloning a criminal offence. The bill will be introduced in the House of Lords before passing to the Commons.

The new bill is a direct response to the High Court judgement last week which decided that cloning by cell nuclear replacement (CNR) fell outside the remit of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 (HFE Act). Other research involving embryos created using sperm and eggs, including embryo stem cell research, will continue to be allowed and regulated by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.  Regulations that were introduced to amend the HFE Act in January will not be affected by the ruling, meaning that stem cell research into cures for serious diseases and other conditions can continue. In addition to formally banning reproductive cloning, the Government intends to appeal against the High Court's decision.