British Section of the World Federation of Doctors Who Respect Human Life

The General Assembly of the United Nations on 8 March 05 called on all the nations of the world to ban all forms of human cloning. 84 countries voted in favour of a ban, while only 34 voted against it.

Friday Fax reported: "British Ambassador Emrys Jones Parry expressed the UK's defiance of the Declaration, stating that "the UK government announced this week more than $1 billion of funding over the next three years for biotechnology research, including stem cell research.

"The UK is pressing ahead with destructive embryo research despite a recent medical scandal over its developing trade in Romanian embryos.

"To prevent the exploitation of women, the UK does not permit payment to donors for their eggs. However, to supplement the shortage of eggs in British fertility clinics, the British Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has allowed UK clinics to import Romanian embryos, despite credible reports that Romanian women are paid high amounts for their eggs."

A proposal in Italy to overturn restrictions there was decisively defeated in a referendum in June. The law limits the number of embryos that can be created to three, forbids sperm or egg donation from outside the couple and prohibits scientific research using embryos.

Josephine Quintavalle (CORE), sums up the situation in Britain: