But President Clinton distanced his administration from the recommendation. He ruled out federal funding for the creation of human embryos for research, noting that research in the private sector was continuing. In Britain, human embryos up to 14 days old already are used for fertility research. The Donaldson proposals, if voted into law, would allow stem cells to be taken from embryos within the same time frame. As patient groups, medical charities, and leading scientists hailed the proposal, it drew bitter attacks from anticloning groups.
Human life is inviolably sacred.
Stem cells are present in adults, but researchers say they are few in number and more difficult to work with than cells taken from a human embryo. If such work goes ahead, it will be under tight guidelines. People whose eggs or sperm are used to create the embryos would have to give specific consent. Before bookmarking this page in your browser, click here . The Monitor does not endorse the sites behind these links.