  
Canada to propose a total ban on human cloning
Last Updated: 2001-05-03 16:37:21 EDT (Reuters Health)
OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Canadian government on Thursday will propose a ban on all attempts at human cloning and impose strict conditions on human embryo research and surrogate motherhood, officials said on Wednesday.
Health Minister Allan Rock will present the proposals to a parliamentary committee as part of a consultative process that will culminate in legislation on reproductive technology being presented to parliament later this year.
Officials said Rock would propose a blanket ban on cloning human beings and outlaw payment for surrogate motherhood and sperm or egg donors.
Rock also wants strict limits on human stem cell research, a controversial technique that scientists say could help fight a wide range of degenerative diseases.
Canada currently lacks a law on reproductive technology, much to the frustration of medical researchers keen to exploit advances such as stem cell research that could help eliminate degenerative conditions such as diabetes and Parkinson's disease.
Some stem cells are taken from frozen embryos that fertility clinics plan to discard, which has prompted critics to brand the practice immoral and say it will lead to human cloning.
However, it is stem cells from early embryos that offer the greatest potential, raising concerns that researchers might be tempted to deliberately fertilize human eggs to produce embryos as a source for the cells. This practice would be banned.
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