Human Cloning

In 1997, researchers in Scotland announced that they had successfully created the world's first cloned mammal (Dolly, the sheep). Since then, there has been considerable public debate regarding the ethics, safety, and usefulness of cloning technology.

There are a number of reasons why individuals may wish to undertake human cloning. Some have claimed that cloning is a viable treatment for infertility (ie. to create a child; this is called "reproductive cloning"), while others believe that cloning can be used to treat degenerative diseases (ie. "therapeutic cloning"). Many, however, feel that cloning is morally unacceptable as it is an affront to human dignity. In addition, any potential benefits of this technology need to be balanced against health and safety concerns as well as rates of success. For example, animal studies have demonstrated that cloning is seldom successful: significant numbers of embryos are required before a live birth can occur; offspring appear to suffer from various significant medical conditions.

Recent events in human cloning

The need for legislative restrictions against human cloning was highlighted in December 2002 when the world's attention was captured by the company Clonaid which announced that they had successfully created the world's first cloned human. However, most of the international scientific community believed that such claims were fabricated.

Recently, however, there have been reports of researchers successfully creating cloned human embryos in the laboratory. Such attempts have been for therapeutic purposes and not to create a human being. For example, in February 2004, researchers in South Korea reported in Science Magazine ^{Footnote 1} that they had cloned a human embryo and then extracted stem cells from it. The researchers needed to collect 242 eggs in order to clone 30 early-stage embryos. From those, they were able to harvest one colony of stem cells. Although the scientists had no intention of implanting any of the cloned embryos in a uterus to create a human being, their plan to clone embryos to create stem cell lines was successful, thereby advancing the technology of cloning. Further research has been suspended until approval from the Special Committee on Ethics in accordance with the Life and Ethics Law, which should come into force some time next year.

Additionally, in August 2004, the United Kingdom's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) Licence Committee granted its first therapeutic cloning research licence to the International Centre for Life at Newcastle University. The one-year licence permits the creation of human embryonic stem cells using somatic cell nuclear transfer. British scientists will use stem cells from the cloned human embryos for research towards the development of treatments for serious diseases such as diabetes, Parkinson's or Alzheimers. While therapeutic cloning has been legal in Britain since 2001, each research project must be licensed by the HFEA. Reproductive cloning is illegal in the UK and penalties include a 10-year prison sentence and unlimited fines.

Situation in Canada

There have been consistent calls in Canada to ban human reproductive cloning since the 1993 Report of the Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies. Polls have indicated that an overwhelming majority of Canadians oppose human reproductive cloning. ^{Footnote 2}

Recognizing the health and safety concerns, as well as the public's opposition, in relation to human cloning, the AHR legislation prohibits human cloning, for any purpose (i.e., whether for reproductive, therapeutic, or research purposes). Penalties for contravening the prohibition are severe: a maximum fine of $500,000 or ten years in prison, or both.

The legislation bans the type of research which recently took place in South Korea.

What the AHR legislation says

The legislation's prohibition on human cloning [see paragraph 5(1)(a)] together with the definition of a "human clone" (see section 3), clearly ensure that the creation of a human clone for any purpose is prohibited.

Paragraph 5(1)(a) of the Act states

No person shall knowingly create a human clone by using any technique, or transplant a human clone into a human being or into any non-human life form or artificial device;

The expression "human clone" is defined in section 3 as:

an embryo that, as a result of the manipulation of human reproductive material or an in vitro embryo, contains a diploid set of chromosomes obtained from a single - living or deceased - human being, foetus or embryo.

The legislation's prohibition on human cloning focusses on the end result - the creation of a human clone - regardless of the technique used. This ensures that as new cloning techniques are developed and research advances, the Act will remain relevant, without the need to be amended.