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Britain's Parliament Gives Green Light for Embryo Cloning
The House of Lords has backed new government rules to allow limited cloning of human embryos, though religious leaders from across the spectrum urged them to oppose the measures.
Peers in parliament's upper chamber voted by 212 to 92 on Monday to allow research using stem cells to develop treatments for killer diseases such as leukaemia, Parkinson's and cancer.
Debate raged for seven hours but as MPs in the elected House of Commons passed the order by a majority of two to one late last year, it will now become law.
Prime Minister Tony Blair argues the move would allow Britain to stay at the forefront of the booming biotechnology industry. But right-to-life groups and religious leaders see it as the first step down a slippery slope to full human cloning.
Independent peer Lord Alton, a "pro-life" campaigner, released a letter from Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey and Britain's Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, urging parliament to set aside the laws.
Alton said the government was railroading the order through parliament without proper scrutiny and proposed a motion that would freeze the legislation until a special committee had heard exhaustive evidence from experts.
"It is precisely because we need to consider these things in detail that we shouldn't be stampeded into making decisions," he said, adding that Britain was now out on an international limb.
"There are many strong ethical and scientific arguments which may be deployed against cloning techniques but we are also strongly at variance with international opinion," he said.
The European Parliament has urged Britain to stop its plans.
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