OTTAWA, Apr 28 (LSN) - Yesterday in the House of Commons, MP Christiane Gagnon (Quebec, BQ) referred to the cloning of the three goats in Montreal as an indication that legislation to ban human cloning is urgently required. “Will the minister pledge to pass Bill C-247, which makes human cloning a criminal offence, before the end of the session?,” Gagnon asked Health Minister Allan Rock. Rock told her: “It is my intention to table a bill on this issue later this year.” While a voluntary moratorium on human cloning and eight other new reproductive technologies is in place, Rock admitted, “we must of course do more.” The most recent attempt at such regulation, Bill C-247, containing among other things bans on human cloning and on the sale of eggs and sperm, died on the order paper when parliament was dissolved for the 1997 federal election. Pro-life observers note that the government’s proposals were mostly praiseworthy, but that they did not go nearly far enough. Moreover, pro-lifers objected strenuously to plans contained in the bill for licensing experimentation on human embryos up to 14 days of age. For the exchange in the House go to: http://www.parl.gc.ca/36/1/parlbus/chambus/house/debates/216_1999-04-27/han216-e.htm#LINK203