In his speech, Bush called for countries to support a Costa Rican proposal to ban both reproductive and therapeutic cloning. But Lord May of Oxford urged countries to back a second proposal from Belgium. The Belgian proposal would ban human reproductive cloning but allow individual countries to make their own decision on therapeutic cloning.

“The United States should be allowed to decide whether therapeutic cloning should be outlawed within its borders," Lord May said. "But other countries, including the UK, have now passed legislation to allow carefully regulated therapeutic cloning while introducing a ban on reproductive cloning. Consequently there is no way that these countries can sign up to the complete ban that President Bush has advocated. Many other countries have also indicated that they would not sign up to such a convention,“ he explained.

Dangerous Repercussions

“The danger of an unworkable resolution on human cloning is that maverick scientists, including those already claiming to be carrying out such work, will attempt reproductive cloning in countries that have not passed laws against it,” Lord May continued.

“The alternative Belgian proposal, which is backed by the UK government, seeks to ban human reproductive cloning worldwide but to allow individual countries to make their own decision on therapeutic cloning," he noted. "If this proposal was successful the United States and others would still be free to ban all human cloning but countries that see the promise offered by therapeutic cloning can still carry out research.”

Lord May continued: “The US Government’s approach at the UN appears more designed to influence domestic legislation, where attempts to introduce a total ban have so far failed, at the expense of a workable international ban on reproductive cloning. Indeed, the US has not yet outlawed reproductive cloning itself.”