In the news

The Australian House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs has recommended that there should be a three-year moratorium on the creation of embryos by somatic cell nuclear transfer ("therapeutic cloning"), after which the issue should be reconsidered. During the three-year period, the progress of research elsewhere should be monitored by the Australian Health Ethics Committee. By a narrow majority of 10-6 the parliamentary committee recommended that the use of surplus embryos from IVF treatments for research on embryonic stem cells should be permitted, subject to oversight and licensing by a national regulatory body. The committee was unanimous in recommending that human reproductive cloning should be banned and that research on adult stem cells should be encouraged. Earlier this year a working party of state premiers was set up with a view to formulating a national approach in the area of stem cell technology (see article in June newsletter); the working party is expected to draw on the parliamentary committee's report.