Law will ban reproductive cloning

The two-clause Human Reproductive Cloning Bill was last week backed by UK members of parliament, despite some strong complaints about how fast the bill passed through its stages. The bill, which prohibits the implantation of a cloned human embryo into a woman, passed all of its stages in the House of Lords in one day last Monday, and the House of Commons on Thursday. A bid by Tory back-benchers to block the second reading was defeated by 288 votes to 49. It now looks like it will receive full Royal Assent, making it law, on 4 December.

The bill was introduced to the House of Lords ten days ago, as a swift and direct response to a High Court ruling that, in effect, told the government that what it thought it had regulated was in fact not the case. The judge said that only embryos created by fertilisation are covered by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act. An immediate ban on human reproductive cloning was called for. The government has indicated that there will be legislation to deal with therapeutic cloning in the future. Until then, the process remains officially unregulated.

Hazel Blears, a junior health minister, stated that 'bringing this bill forwards reflects the concerns raised frequently by Parliament and the public about the importance of ensuring reproductive cloning cannot take place in the United Kingdom. The immediate concern of the government is that no one should think that they can come to the UK to exploit the current situation where reproductive cloning is unregulated.'