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The source of this article is NYTimes: http://tinyurl.com/5kshc U.S. Stem Cell Policy Delays U.N. Action on Human Cloning By WARREN HOGE Published: October 24, 2004 NITED NATIONS, Oct. 22 - A United Nations effort to ban the reproductive cloning of human beings is being held up for the third straight year by a polarizing argument over whether the prohibition should be extended to cover stem cell and other research known as therapeutic cloning. All 191 United Nations members agree on a treaty that would prohibit cloning human beings, an idea first proposed in 2001, but they are divided over whether to broaden the ban to cover therapeutic cloning. The Bush administration is aggressively seeking the total ban. That has set it against close allies like Britain and much of the world's scientific establishment, who contend that it would block research on cancer, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, diabetes, spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis and other conditions. The White House says that enough stem cells from human embryos exist for research and that cloning an embryo for any reason is unethical. The United States has thrown its weight behind a resolution offered by Costa Rica to outlaw all forms of human cloning as "unethical, morally reproachable and contrary to due respect for the human person." Such a global ban would go beyond the restrictions put on cloning under American law. The measure, which was debated Thursday and Friday in the General Assembly's legal committee, has 63 cosponsors, most of them Roman Catholic countries or nations from the developing world. Belgium has offered a compromise resolution, cosponsored by Britain and 19 other countries, that would ban human cloning for reproductive purposes outright and would offer nations three options for dealing with therapeutic cloning - banning it, putting a moratorium on the practice or regulating it through national legislation to prevent misuse. Belgium's representative, Marc Pecsteen, said it was important to have a ban on reproductive cloning as soon as possible to crack down on unscrupulous scientists. "A compromise formula must be found in a constructive spirit to allow consensus," he said. In a brief statement that included three quotations from President Bush, Susan Moore, a United States special adviser, told the committee on Friday, "A ban that differentiates between human reproductive and experimental cloning would essentially authorize the creation of a human embryo for the purpose of destroying it, thus elevating the value of research and experimentation above that of a human life." She said the United States supported efforts to find breakthrough treatment and cures for disease but that it felt scientific progress was possible without posing a "threat to human dignity." Opponents contended that by ignoring the fact that there is little likelihood of a consensus in the United Nations on therapeutic cloning research and pushing for a vote, the sponsors of the broader measure were effectively destroying the possibility of action on a ban on reproductive cloning on which all nations could agreed. Vanu Gopala Menon of Singapore said progress on achieving that goal was being thwarted by countries that had "adopted an all-or-nothing attitude and paralyzed the process." One of the most defiant objections came from Britain, whose ambassador, Emyr Jones Parry, said that his country was convinced that therapeutic cloning held enormous promise for new treatments for serious degenerative conditions that were currently incurable. He said that Britain would not sign or be bound by a final convention that called for a total ban. Turkey's representative, Gokcen Tugral, said the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference was opposed to a vote on either one of the alternatives, saying that one side imposing its views on the other in such a polarizing setting would "only create a negative atmosphere." On Thursday, Secretary General Kofi Annan said that while the issue was one for the member states to decide, "in my personal view, I think I will go for therapeutic cloning." Last December, Costa Rica backed off pressing for a vote in the General Assembly until this year. Thursday, South Korea proposed another year's delay and said that an international scientific conference should be held and a study should be made of national laws and regulations that govern cloning. The stem cell dispute has become an issue in the American presidential race, with President Bush opposing government financing of any research involving the destruction of human embryos, and his Democratic opponent, Senator John Kerry, pledging a national campaign in pursuit of embryonic stem cell research. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn