Large number of amendments expected after house resumes in September OTTAWA, June 21, 2002 (LSN.ca) – Pro-lifers are breathing a sigh of relief today as the House of Commons has announced that it will rise for summer recess with the controversial assisted reproductive bill C-56 stalled in the Health Committee. The bill, which would purposely permit embryonic stem cell research and would – due to its current poor wording – not provide effective prohibitions even to cloning, was opposed by pro-lifers. The House is expected to resume in mid-September at which time the Health Committee will hear from more witnesses before it commences discussions on amendments. A large number of amendments are expected and some may even require further witnesses to resolve unanswered questions. Once passed the committee stage the legislation will go the third reading debates in the House and finally to the Senate. Final passage and set up of agencies to deal with licensing researchers could take up to three years according to some analysts.
Liberal MP Paul Szabo renewed his call for an indefinite moratorium on embryonic stem cell research. “This Bill has many problems to resolve but it will ultimately lay out safeguards which must be respected by privately funded researchers as well. A moratorium is the only way to ensure that any and all reproductive-related research in Canada respects the conditions currently under consideration by Parliament,” said Mr. Szabo. See LifeSite’s Stem Cell page for complete coverage on the bill and related issues: https://www.lifesitenews.com/features/stemcellembryo