Ban reproductive cloning, scientists urge UN

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http://www.biomedcentral.com/news/20030923/05

 

Ban reproductive cloning, scientists urge UNSixty-three science academies

present a united front ahead of cloning committee meeting | Rossella Lorenzi

 

 

Scientists from across the world, many from the developing world, will call for

a worldwide ban on human reproductive cloning at a UN meeting next week.

 

The InterAcademy Panel (IAP), a network of science academies headquartered in

Trieste, Italy, will present a declaration to a UN committee on cloning, urging

countries to ensure that reproductive cloning is subject to a universal ban. But

the IAP stresses that therapeutic cloning to obtain embryonic stem cells should

be allowed.

 

The UN committee has been looking at the possibility of issuing a declaration to

endorse a ban on cloning, but consensus has been hampered by disagreements over

the scope of such a ban, especially whether the ban should apply to research and

therapeutic cloning.

 

" Some countries wanted a ban on all forms of cloning, which scientists cannot

accept, " Mohamed Hassan, executive director of the Third World Academy of

Sciences, which hosts the IAP, told The Scientist. " Such a measure would prevent

the development of new treatments for incurable diseases. "

 

On the other hand, reproductive cloning by somatic cell nuclear transfer raises

a host of ethical, social, economic, and scientific questions. The technique

" goes against all the physiological mechanisms of reproduction, " according to

professor Ermanno Greco, director of the Centre for Reproductive Medicine at

Rome's European Hospital.

 

" Suffice to say that the technique has never worked in primates. Other animals

like mice have been born with abnormalities or have died almost instantly after

birth, " Greco said.

 

The high incidence of spontaneous abortions, fetal disorders, malformations, and

deaths in animal studies make it irresponsible for anyone to attempt human

reproductive cloning, the IAP says. " There is no reason to suppose that the

outcome should be different in humans. "

 

Hassan stressed that most of the academies that signed the declaration—50 of

63—are from developing countries.

 

" This really shows how important the development of biotechnology is for these

countries, " Hassan said.

 

Signatories include the African Academy of Sciences, the Chinese Academy of

Sciences, the Russian Academy of Sciences, Britain's Royal Society, and the US

National Academy of Sciences.

Links for this article

The InterAcademy Panel

http://www.interacademies.net/iap

 

Ad Hoc Committee on an International Convention against the Reproductive Cloning

of Human Beings

http://www.un.org/law/cloning/

 

E. Susman, " Doctors endorse research cloning, " The Scientist, June 20, 2003.

http://www.biomedcentral.com/news/20030620/03/

 

Third World Academy of Sciences

http://www.ictp.trieste.it/~twas/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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