UN cloning vote unlikely today
Debate has members sharply divided over therapeutic cloning and frustrated over 'deadlock'
Oct 21, 2004
UNITED NATIONS—Members of the legal committee of the United Nation's General Assembly began once again tackling the debate over human cloning yesterday (October 21), but the chances of a decisive vote on the issue during this latest round of talks, scheduled to continue today, appear remote. And some members voiced their frustrations at the international body's inability to take a stand on human reproductive cloning, which all members appear to oppose.
The UN has been trying to reach agreement on a convention for more than 2 years. Yesterday, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan announced that he supports the use of cloning in therapeutic research, opposing the United States and more than 60 other member states that currently support a resolution that would ban all forms of cloning.
The UN remains deeply divided on the issue. During a meeting of the General Assembly's legal committee yesterday, some members said they...