Russia's upper house approves human cloning ban

The upper house of Russia's parliament, the Federation Council, on Wednesday approved a government bill banning human cloning until the adoption of new legislation regulating the application of cloning technologies.

Valentina Petrenko, chairwoman of the Federation Council's social policy committee, was quoted by Itar-Tass news agency as saying the senators believed the issue concerned not only medical but also moral norms.

The bill had earlier been approved by the lower house, the State Duma, but is yet to be signed into law by President Dmitry Medvedev.

Russia's five-year ban on human cloning expired on June 23, 2007. The original 2002 law did not forbid the cloning of cells and organisms for scientific and research purposes, human organs for transplantation or the cloning of animals.

Human cloning has been under fierce debate since the 1960s. Though technology for human cloning remains incomplete, its advocates have already faced a number of legal, aesthetic and religious challenges.

Source: Xinhua