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AUSTRALIA: BAN ON THERAPEUTIC CLONING LIFTED December 7, 2006
Zainab Osman
(SomaliNet) Australian Parliament on Wednesday lifted a ban on cloning human embryos for stem cell research despite opposition from the prime minister and other party leaders. The legislation was approved by a vote of 82 to 62 in the House of Representatives. It was passed by the Senate last month.
Supporting the legislation, Defense Minister Brendan Nelson said his generation had benefited enormously from the scientific endurance and judgment of those who pioneered difficult research and legislation.
Opposition Labor Party Leader Kevin Rudd later said he had similarly wrestled with his conscience over the legislation and decided he could not support it. "I find it very difficult to support a legal regime that results in the creation of a form of human life for the single and explicit purpose of conducting experimentation on that form of human life," Rudd said.
All parties encouraged their lawmakers to vote according to their consciences rather than following party lines. A conscience vote is rare in Australian politics.
Scientists hope stem cell research will eventually lead to treatments for conditions including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, as well as spinal cord injuries, diabetes and arthritis. Parliament passed Australia's first laws on stem cell research in 2002, allowing scientists to extract stem cells from spare embryos intended for in vitro fertilization but preventing cell cloning.
The bill passed allows for therapeutic cloning, the splicing of skin cells with eggs to produce stem cells, also known as master cells, which are capable of forming all the tissues of the human body.