Franco-German Partial-Cloning Ban Faces Broad Opposition at UN

By C-FAM Staff

     (NEW YORK – C-FAM) As deliberations over an international response to the threat of human cloning continued at United Nations headquarters this week, the French and German proposal to create a partial ban, a ban that would not address the cloning of human embryos for use in medical experiments, had failed to gain widespread support. Over twenty nations, from all regions of the world, including fellow European Union member states, voiced criticism of the Franco-German initiative, arguing that the only practical and ethical response to the creation of human beings through cloning was to ban the procedure entirely, no matter how cloned embryos were intended to be used.

     During a closed-door meeting Wednesday night, both the French and the German delegates showed frustration at the direction of the debate. According to a delegate present at the meeting, the French representative stated that it was now considered to be a mistake to have raised the issue in the first place, and that the United Nations was not the proper forum for this discussion. The Friday Fax was also informed that a visibly agitated German delegate claimed that calling for a total ban, so that humans could not be cloned for medical research, exhibited a refusal to help people, and is therefore a crime under German law. More than one delegation was deeply disturbed to learn that the German delegate considered disagreement with his position to be the equivalent of criminal activity.

     All human cloning will result in the creation of live human embryos. If embryos are intended for implantation and eventual live-birth, the procedure is called "reproductive cloning." If embryos are created and then destroyed in the course of medical research, the procedure is called "therapeutic" or "human experimental cloning." The French and Germans only sought to restrict reproductive cloning.

     However, in an influential statement, the Spanish delegate argued that the French and German position was not consistent with European Union policy. The Spanish delegate cited the 1999 European Convention on Human Rights and Biotechnology, which states that the "production of a human embryo with the objective of obtaining – through its destruction – embryonic stem cells, makes research cloning an example of human embryo misuse."

     Ireland and Italy also called for a comprehensive ban on cloning, with Italy claiming that once large numbers of embryos are produced, it will be impossible to ensure that some are not employed for reproductive purposes. The Netherlands called for a five year moratorium on human experimental cloning, which further illustrated the lack of an EU consensus.

     The United States and the Holy See maintained strong opposition to all cloning. The US delegate stated that "We cannot agree…to prohibit the production of cloned human beings but not to prohibit the production of cloned human embryos for immediate destruction, an equal affront to human life and dignity."

     As of press time, the outcome of the debate is still undecided, with the Germans mounting a vigorous lobbying effort to salvage a revised version of the original proposal.

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