UN cloning decision may be challenged

Supporters of therapeutic cloning have attacked a proposal to force another UN vote on a world wide cloning ban, a vote that the UN General Assembly had already voted to delay for two years. Delegates voted a month ago to postpone any decision on a cloning resolution until 2005, by 80 votes to 79, with 15 abstentions. Backers of the delay said that there should be broad consensus on the goals of the cloning resolution before work is begun. But last week, supporters of a proposal to ban both reproductive and therapeutic cloning said they would attempt to override this recommendation when it comes up for a final vote this week.

The decision to delay a decision on cloning meant that delegates did not vote on two other competing resolutions. One, sponsored by Costa Rica and supported by the United States and 64 other nations, sought a ban on both human reproductive and therapeutic cloning. The other, supported by 23 nations including the UK, proposed a ban on human reproductive cloning only, whilst allowing research cloning to continue. But following a meeting held last Tuesday, supporters of the Costa Rican proposal said they may try to force a new vote on the issue, with the hope of re-introducing a total cloning ban. 'We already lost once. We risk nothing by trying again', said a Costa Rican diplomat last week. US officials said that Washington had not yet decided whether it will support the push for another vote.

The Genetics Policy Institute (GPI), formally known as the Human Cloning Policy Institute (HCPI), accused those seeking a total cloning ban of attempting to 'strong-arm' the General Assembly. The executive director of the GPI, Florida lawyer Bernard Siegel, said that activities in the UN are the antithesis of democratic discussion. 'It is more like secret diplomacy, with the lives of millions of disease victims at stake', he said in a statement. The GPI is an association of stem cell researchers and doctors that is trying to ban human reproductive cloning, whilst campaigning for research into therapeutic cloning: the use of SCNT (somatic cell nuclear transfer ) and embryo stem cell technology to develop new disease treatments. As the HCPI, the association recently called upon the International Court of Justice to classify human reproductive cloning as a crime against humanity.

The InterAcademy Panel (IAP), a global association of 66 national academies of science, has also called upon the UN to stand by its original decision. The IAP passed an emergency resolution last week, asking it not to 'jeopardise the potential and far-reaching medical benefits that may arise from cloning for research and therapeutic purposes'. The UK's Royal Society gave its backing to the call, adding that if the UN did eventually ban therapeutic cloning, it would expect the UK government not to sign such a resolution.

Final approval of the two-year delay on a cloning treaty was originally scheduled for the afternoon of December 8, but is now apparently expected to take place later this week.