The Japanese government is planning to ban human reproductive cloning. A new bill drawn up by the science and technology agency warns that researchers attempting to clone a human being will face fines or imprisonment. The move follows a public outcry over the loopholes in the existing regulations, says a report in The Guardian newspaper. Many people were shocked in December 1998, when American scientist Richard Seed announced that he had obtained funds to begin human cloning research in Japan. The new laws may be reviewed after three to five years, to take account of new scientific advances and changes in public opinion.
Japan to ban human cloning
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
The Japanese government is planning to ban human reproductive cloning. A new bill drawn up by the science and technology agency warns that researchers attempting to clone a human being will face fines or imprisonment. The move follows a public outcry over the loopholes in the existing regulations, says a...
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