House of Lords told that cloning is unethical and unnecessary

Westminster, 4 June 2001--The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) has told a House of Lords select committee that destructive embryonic stem cell research is ethically unacceptable and scientifically unnecessary.

SPUC, Britain's longest-established pro-life group, has submitted its evidence to the House of Lords select committee on stem cell research, which was set up after the vote by both houses of parliament to authorise research on cloned human embryos.

Paul Tully, SPUC's general secretary, said: "Our submission explains both the ethical objection and the practical alternatives to destroying embryos in research.

"We also submit that the arguments supporting so-called therapeutic cloning do not differ essentially from reproductive cloning, and that a public policy in favour of the former will inexorably lead to the latter.

"We point out that both UK public opinion and international political opinion is against the practice of human cloning, whether for therapeutic or reproductive purposes.

"Although he committee has a mandate to review what parliament has already done, we believe it could have an important impact. The majority of the committee have supported cloning, but the arguments against it are strong and, especially on scientific grounds, are growing all the time."




© SPUC 2013