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UK's Royal Society Joins in Pressure on UN to Allow Cloning

New York, August 30, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The UK's Royal Society is part of a international consortium pressuring the US to stop its push for a complete ban on human cloning. The US delegation to the UN has, since the Bush administration, been insisting that the only way to stop human cloning is to create an effective ban on both so-called 'reproductive' and 'therapeutic' cloning. The language used to describe the procedure has caused much confusion and there are questions as to whether any proposed ban will actually effectively prohibit the creation of human beings no matter what purpose is proposed for them.

Much of this confusion has been created by science lobbyists insisting that there is an ethical difference between the two 'forms' of cloning, "reproductive" and "therapeutic". However pro-life lobbyists have pointed out for years that the distinction is completely specious. They note that procedures for creating a clone are the same whether the decision is to allow the child so created to live or to kill her and use the cells for research. Campaign Life Coalition presented a complete analysis of this false distinction that was brought up during the debates on the Canadian legislation passed in the spring of 2004. However, the news media has fully accepted the ruse that there are two 'forms' of human cloning, one being good and the other bad.

The issue is gaining currency in the news again because of votes on cloning resolutions scheduled for October at the United Nations. Samantha Singson, a full-time pro-life, pro-family lobbyist at the United Nations says the Royal Society and other groups are putting the pressure on now because they are worried about the effectiveness of the opposition. Speaking to LifeSiteNews.com she said, "We've been successful in educating the nations of the world to the fact that therapeutic cloning kills babies and they don't want to support it. That alone is a huge step forward." Singson says that because the research lobbyists were worried they persuaded the UN to delay the votes last year. Now they are even more concerned that their media disinformation strategy has not worked.

"There are over 60 countries that are set to vote for a total ban on all forms of cloning. Even if the wording of the prohibition needs work, they are in agreement in principle and they see that the distinction is a false one." Singson says that the lobbyists are working hard to sway the undecideds and to continue educating. "We're confident that the 60 will vote with us." When asked if 60 countries is enough to sway a vote, Singson replied, "We thought we would have enough but there is always the unknown factor of the undecideds. Still, it's enough to give them a run for their money."

New Scotsman coverage:
http://news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=1015422004

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