Canada to Consider Ban on Human Cloning

The bill to be unveiled by Canadian Health Minister Allan Rock would be Canada´s first legal framework for the science of reproduction.

The controversy surrounding the complex scientific and ethical issues being tackled, however, have led Rock to propose only a draft of legislation and to invite members of Parliament to tinker with significant aspects.

Officials said the draft bill would not deal with the use of fetal tissue or technologies dealing with embryos -- tiny human beings -- after they have been implanted in a woman.

It remained unclear, however, if the draft bill would ban cloning human embryos for non-reproductive purposes; for research or to create replacement tissue or organs, for example. A Health Canada discussion paper had suggested such limited use of embryo cloning be allowed.