ProLife Alliance is granted cloning law appeal

The UK House of Lords has agreed to hear an appeal from the ProLife Alliance. In January, the UK Court of Appeal overturned a High Court ruling that the Human Fertilisation and Embryology (HFE) Act 1990 did not regulate cloned embryos.

Last year, the ProLife Alliance had successfully argued that the Act did not apply, meaning that all forms of cloning were temporarily unregulated in the UK. In the wake of that ruling, the Human Reproductive cloning Act 2001 was passed, banning cloning for reproductive purposes, whilst therapeutic cloning procedures remained unregulated pending the successful appeal by the Government.

The ProLife Alliance had argued that because cloned embryos were not the product of fertilisation, they were not covered by the Act, which defines embryos as cells having undergone fertilisation. But the Court of Appeal said that a cloned embryo did fall within the legal definition, despite the fact that fertilisation does not technically taken place. The judges argued that the 'spirit' of the law should include cloned embryos.

The ProLife Alliance was ordered to pay costs and permission to appeal to the House of Lords was denied. However, following a direct petition to the House of Lords by the ProLife Alliance, an appeal has now been granted. The group maintains that the extension of the 1990 law was 'illegal' and that the definition of an embryo cannot include something created by cell nucleus replacement. For that reason, it is argued that the Act cannot be interpreted to include cloning, and that parliamentary and public debate should be encouraged on the matter before new legislation is passed. The appeal is expected to be heard later this year.