South Korea bans cloning

The South Korean government has finalised a bill that would ban all forms of human cloning - reproductive or therapeutic. Under the proposed new law, anyone found guilty of a human cloning offence would be sentenced to 10 years in prison.

The bill, called the 'Life, Ethics and Safety Measures Bill' could be in force by the end of the year. It also prohibits the use or sale of a person's genetic information for insurance or employment purposes. A number of Korean scientists have criticised the bill, saying it would hinder valuable therapeutic research. But it might be possible, if permission from a Korean presidential ethics committee is granted, for scientists to undertake stem cell research on embryos donated by IVF patients.

In July, a South Korean company claimed that it had achieved a pregnancy using cloned embryos. The company, BioFusion, is affiliated to Clonaid, the company set up by the Raelians, a religious cult that wants to be the first to create a cloned baby. The woman made no public appearance to prove the claim and no scientific paper announcing the development has been published.

The woman, who would now be four months pregnant, is said to have fled the country. BioFusion said it had moved her out of the country ahead of the cloning ban, to another country where she would be 'safer and more comfortable'.