OTTAWA, Mar 20, 2001 (LSN.ca) – A leak to the media reveals that the Government’s Canadian Institutes for Health Research, set up recently by Health Minister Alan Rock, has prepared guidelines regarding the use of human embryos in research, including human cloning. It was reported that the guidelines would be open for public comment prior to being adopted.
Campaign Life Coalition condemns without reservation all destructive use of human embryos, says CLC British Columbia president, John Hof, because the embryo is a living child from the time of fertilization/conception. These young children have the inalienable right to life based on their inherent human dignity. Cloning human embryos, regardless of the purpose is no worse than using human embryos for destructive research, therefore all such research must be discontinued.
Stem cells can be utilized ethically by medicine in research and treatment. They can be morally obtained from other sources, such as the extra cord blood, the placenta, and adult bone marrow, notes Hoff, questioning why Canada cannot be the pioneer in the ethical use of stem cells?
The leaked report seems to indicate Canada will join Britain as the only countries to allow human cloning. Britain has earned the condemnation of the European Union for its decision several months ago to allow so-called therapeutic cloning.
See an article by CP on the subject: https://www.canoe.ca/NationalTicker/CANOE-wire.Stem-Cell-Guidelines.html