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Netherlands bans cloning of human embryos for research 7 October 2000 - Utrecht - The Dutch government is proposing to ban medical research involving the therapeutic cloning of human embryos for at least three years. The embryos bill, now before parliament, forbids the creation of embryos specifically for scientific research, as most public opinion in the Netherlands still considers this unacceptable. The ban contradicts advice from the government's scientific advisers, the health council, that creating embryos should be permitted in limited areas of scientific research. But scientists will be allowed to use "surplus" embryos from the 12,000 in vitro fertilisation treatments carried out each year in order to carry out medical research, including culturing embryonic stem cells. Research will be permitted only under strict conditions. Consent must be granted by the donors and by a national committee on research involving human subjects. The embryos bill (www.minvws.nl) seeks to define the conditions and limitations governing the use of gametes and embryos. It prohibits human cloning, gender selection, and, for the next five years, altering genetic material. The health and justice ministries have concluded, having consulted many organisations, that most people still regard creating embryos for scientific research or "therapeutic cloning" as "a step too far" and an unacceptable infringement of "respect for human life." Importing such embryos is also forbidden. The health council had argued that research on human embryos was necessary to improve in vitro fertilisation. Parliament will have a chance to reconsider the ban on cloning three years from enacting the legislation. This research could then be permitted in specific fields if it is not "equally possible" to use surplus embryos from in vitro fertilisation. One field cited is transplant medicine using tissue cultured from human embryonic stem cells for research into Parkinson's disease or heart disease. The Dutch position is seen as a compromise between the European parliament's call to ban therapeutic cloning (16 September, p 658) and the limited acceptance proposed by the UK government's advisers (2 September, p 527). Other related articles in BMJ: UK government approves limited cloning of human embryos. Akil Fazal BMJ 2000 321: 527. [Full text] EU institutions divided on therapeutic cloning. Rory Watson BMJ 2000 321: 658. [Full text] Netherlands bans cloning of human embryos for research. Tony Sheldon BMJ 2000 321: 852. [Full text] by Tony Sheldon BMJ 2000;321:854 http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/321/7265/854/g janet paterson 53 now / 44 dx cd / 43 onset cd / 41 dx pd / 37 onset pd TEL: 613 256 8340 URL: http://www.geocities.com/janet313/ EMAIL: [log in to unmask] SMAIL: PO Box 171 Almonte Ontario K0A 1A0 Canada