With a majority of 71 supporters against 35 opponents, a committee at the United Nations approved a statement calling on the countries of the world to ban any form of genetic cloning in humans, including research on embryonic stem cells. The decision will be handed over to the General Assembly, and although it has no legal effect, it may symbolize the trend of global legislation on the subject
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Last Friday, 18/2/05, the UN Legal Committee approved a statement of principle calling on the countries of the world to absolutely prohibit human cloning of all types, including the use of embryonic stem cells for research purposes.
The statement was approved by a majority of 71 supporters against 35 opponents. 43 members of the committee were not present for the vote on the proposal submitted by Honduras with the support of the United States. The proposal will now go to the approval of 191 members of the UN General Assembly, but even if it is approved, it has no validity, as it is a non-binding declaration.
Before the text of the proposal was approved, a number of amendments that Belgium tried to introduce in order to "soften" it, and make it more acceptable among supporters of conducting stem cell research, were omitted from it.
Although the decision comes against human cloning in general, the most controversial issue is that of the embryonic stem cells, mainly because many researchers clone the stem cells for tests and experiments and then get rid of them.
Some scientists believe that in these techniques lies the hope for the healing of about one hundred million people from various diseases, starting with Alzheimer's and diabetes and ending with spinal injuries. But the governments of the United States, Costa Rica and other countries say that such research, whatever its purpose, unjustly takes lives.
Friday's vote closed the door on four years of debate, which began in 2001 when a proposal was made to draw up an international treaty that would effectively ban human cloning. This attempt failed miserably after the Bush administration pushed to expand the ban to include the use of embryonic stem cells for medical purposes, but the UN's legal committee was unable to reach an agreement on the issue even after years of discussions.
Instead, Italy proposed that the assembly adopt a principled and non-binding declaration calling on nations to "prohibit any attempt to create human life through cloning, and any research designed to achieve this goal." Honduras, later, called on the United Nations to "prohibit any form of human cloning, as this harms the protection of life."
An American organization opposed to abortion expressed great satisfaction with the UN committee's decision. "This statement represents a significant step towards promoting respect for human life," said officials in the organization
And added "the opponents of cloning welcome the committee's decision and expect the member states to fulfill their international obligations when the issue is brought before the General Assembly."
During the discussion, a debate developed on the question of whether to approve the cloning of human cells that may help in the development of drugs for many diseases, including cancer. The British representative said that his country approves the cloning of human cells, with the aim of helping millions of people. The proposal will be forwarded to the UN General Assembly for approval.
"We approve stem cell research in our country because we believe it could help millions of patients in the future. But we respect cultures and religious beliefs that will lead other countries to take a different approach," said the British ambassador to the UN, Gavin Watson.
The scientist of human cloning
They knew the stem cells
The human genome - the moral aspect
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