Second Australian state to permit therapeutic cloning?

The Lower House in New South Wales, Australia, voted last week to overturn a ban on therapeutic cloning by 65 votes to 26. If the measure is passed by the Upper House later this month it will bring New South Wales' cloning legislation in line with federal law, which now permits the technique. The bill is almost identical to that passed by the Federal Parliament last December. The state of Victoria passed similar legislation in early May.

The Catholic Church has been accused of improperly influencing the debate prior to the conscience vote after the Archbishop of Sydney, George Pell, threatened to refuse Holy Communion to Catholic MPs who voted in favour of overturning the current ban, stopping short of excommunicating them. Pell announced, 'It is a serious moral matter, and Catholic politicians who vote for this legislation must realize that their voting has consequences for their place in the life of the church'. Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, denied that the Church was directing politicians on how to vote.

Voting in favour of reform, Labor MP Tony Stewart defied Pell's warning, saying 'Maybe I'll go to hell but if I go to hell I'm going to do so by saving a lot of lives, because that's what this bill is about'. It is believed that therapeutic cloning will aid stem cell researchers in their search for treatments or cures into degenerative and debilitating conditions such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, diabetes, spinal injuries and muscular degeneration

Pell is hopeful that the Church may be able to exert more influence in the Upper House and block the passage of the bill. But John Taylor, leader of the Baptist Union of New South Wales, was doubtful, saying he would need to be a 'prophet' for the Church to be more persuasive in the second vote.