Britain is getting credit for being the first nation set to ban cloning. Truth is, they are the first to have legalized it.
Last week, the British health secretary announced that the Labour party will offer legislation to ban cloning. But there's one catch. The proposed law would cover "reproductive cloning," but not "therapeutic cloning." Currently, in Britain, so-called therapeutic cloning i.e., creating embryos for research purposes is legal for scientists who have been granted a state license. The embryos are allowed to live for no more than 14 days: Stem cells are extracted, then destroyed. What Britain would ban is so-called reproductive cloning, in which a cloned embryo gets implanted into a woman's womb.
In other words, cloning is okay so long as no one survives.
The disingenuousness of the British campaign may be a product of the political season a month or so away from an expected election. But the fakery could have serious implications worldwide.
Pro-Life Infonet
24. april 2001