U.N. delays decision on human cloning
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UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The United Nations voted narrowly Thursday to delay for two years any consideration of a treaty to ban human cloning, an issue that has left the world body bitterly divided.
Facing rival resolutions on a total ban or a partial ban, the General Assembly's legal committee voted 80-79 to accept a motion introduced by Iran on behalf of the 57 Islamic nations to postpone U.N. action on the issue. Fifteen countries abstained.
The close vote reflected the deep division in the 191-nation General Assembly on the cloning issue.
Costa Rica and the United States had lobbied intensively for a vote on a resolution that would have established a working group to start drafting a treaty to ban all forms of human cloning. That resolution was co-sponsored by about 50 countries.
Last week, U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte sent letters to ambassadors from about 100 countries in support of a total ban, saying "there is a need to act now to confront the emerging threat of human cloning."
A rival resolution introduced by Belgium called for a ban only on the cloning of babies, leaving the question of human cloning for research and medical experiments to individual countries. It was co-sponsored by 13 other countries including Britain, China, Singapore and Japan and supported by France, Germany and other nations.
U.S. deputy ambassador James Cunningham said last week that postponement of a decision was tantamount to accepting that "research on cloning can continue without the majority of the General Assembly pronouncing itself in favor of a total ban, which will happen if we get a vote."
Scientists supporting human cloning for medical purposes say they hope to use stem cells from human embryos to find cures for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other debilitating diseases.
Stem cells, which are found in human embryos, umbilical cords and placentas, have not yet differentiated into any of the 220 cell types that make up the human body and so can divide and turn into any kind of cell in the body.
The Roman Catholic Church and anti-abortion groups say stem cell research is tantamount to murder because it starts with the destruction of a human embryo. The United States argues that there are already enough stem cell lines for scientists to use for research on diseases.
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