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OTTAWA: Anti-Cloning Bill To Be Reintroduced, But Prospects For Passage Unclear DENNIS BUECKERT 8 Jan 2004 OTTAWA (CP) - The federal government will reintroduce the anti-cloning bill which died in the Senate before the change of Liberal leadership, a spokesman for Prime Minister Paul Martin said Thursday. But it is impossible to predict whether the law will be passed before the next election, said Mario Lague in an interview. "Quite frankly, with how much time we'll have to get everything done, I couldn't tell you." Lague said he expected the bill would be reintroduced without amendment. The Assisted Human Reproduction Act has been in the works for more than 10 years, ever since a royal commission recommended legislation to govern a host of new reproductive technologies. It would ban human cloning and commercial surrogate motherhood contracts. It would set rules on embryonic stem cell research and create an agency to monitor fertility clinics. The bill passed the Commons in the last legislative session despite fierce opposition from pro-life MPs who oppose the use of surplus embryos for research purposes. It died in the Senate when the House prorogued, but it could be reintroduced in the Senate without having to pass again in the Commons. The Senate likely would hold hearings on the legislation, since it is complex and controversial, and that could take weeks or months. An election is expected in the spring. Martin has identified three bills as priorities: a law to rearrange riding boundaries; one to facilitate the sale of inexpensive AIDS drugs to poor countries; and one to create a more independent ethics counsellor. "This one is also at the top of the list but there is a batting order," said Lague. "There is a timing issue. Your guess is as good as mine right now (whether it will pass)." Genetic scientists are impatient for the bill to become law because federal funding for stem cell research has stalled, and it is assumed this is due to the lack of framework legislation. SOURCE: Canada East, Canada http://canadaeast.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040108/CPN/19457021 * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn