British scientists should be allowed to clone human embryos for use in a wider variety of medical research, the government's chief medical officer, Liam Donaldson, said Wednesday. In 1990 parliament approved embryo research, mainly into treating infertility and avoiding disability in children. But on Wednesday Donaldson called for the scope of permissible research to be widened. Prime Minister Tony Blair will leave it to members of parliament to decide in a free vote whether scientists should be allowed to clone human embryo cells for a broader spectrum of research, the Department of Health said.
Therapeutic cloning means killing.
Life said in a statement released on Wednesday before Donaldson made his comments. Charities such as Life would like to see more work done to follow up on new research showing that adult stem cells, instead of embryonic ones, could be used to develop tissues and organs. Donaldson called for research into alternative sources of stem cells and said experiments on embryos would only be permitted if the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority was satisfied there were no other options. Under the terms of the 1990 act, Britain has some of the world's strictest regulations on cloning research and British scientists have been keen for the government to loosen them to enable them to compete with their counterparts overseas. Wired Digital Inc. All rights reserved.