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CNN.com July 3rd. 2001 Germany will continue to import human stem cells BERLIN, Germany (AP) -- Germany's governing parties have rejected opposition calls to stop imports of human embryo cells after several projects inflamed a national debate on the morality of genetic research. Leaders of the Social Democrats and Greens said after talks Monday night with Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder that a decision should wait until two ethics commissions submit recommendations in the fall. A decade-old German law prohibits the creation of embryo cells purely for research, but imports are not explicitly forbidden. The main opposition Christian Democratic party plans to ask parliament for an immediate import moratorium Thursday, but leaders of the governing coalition said after their meeting they would block the motion. Several German universities have announced projects using human stem cells for biotechnology research, putting pressure on politicians to update laws regulating the fast-moving field. The School of Medicine in the northern city of Luebeck said this week it had suspended a project involving stem cells imported from the United States to await clearer signals from the government. The researchers had not started their project, which was to have involved the breeding of heart muscle cells, German newspapers reported Tuesday. Schroeder appointed a national ethics council in May to help set guidelines for Germany's burgeoning biotech firms. The group comprises mainly scientists and church leaders. Parliament also has a commission working on recommendations. Even before the panel was inaugurated, the governor of North Rhine-Westphalia state, Wolfgang Clement, caused controversy by saying he would allow a Bonn research institute to import stem cells from Israel. http://www.cnn.com/2001/HEALTH/07/03/germany.genetic.ap/index.html * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn