Germany's Ethics Council Rejects Cloning

Germany will continue to oppose human cloning for research



The National Ethics Council in Germany announced on Monday that it would continue to oppose the cloning of human embryos for research despite calls for more research into its benefits.



The German National Ethics Council, the 25-member body created in 2001 by the Federal Government to offer advice on ethical issues in the life sciences, announced on Monday that it would continue to oppose the cloning of human embryos for research. The announcement, which came after more than a year of study, reinforces a vote taken by the German parliament in 2002 that outlaws cloning.



Human embryo cloning for stem cells is illegal in Germany, although research from stem cells outside Germany has been allowed by the German parliament which first passed a ban on all types of human cloning, be it for reproductive or therapeutic purposes, as far back as 1991.



The National Ethics Council had been set the task of investigating the nature of stem cell research by Chancellor Gerhard Schr”der in late 2002. The subject was brought to...