Italy moves to block human cloning
Italy's lower house of parliament has given a resounding endorsement to a ban on human cloning. The move came following Italian Doctor Severino Antinori, who has said he will clone humans, pointing out that Italy had no law against the practice of human cloning. The ban was ratified by 385 votes in favour to three against, with 13 abstentions. Rather than being a national law, the ban is a protocol to the Council of Europe's convention on human rights and biomedicine. Some 24 of the 43 Council of Europe states, including Italy, have signed the protocol. Dr Antinori had already said that he and his team will press ahead with their plan to clone human beings and have even specified that the project will probably take place in a Mediterranean country. Italian news agency ANSA had claimed that the Dr Antinori had claimed that the most likely place for the project to take place would be Israel, but both the Israeli Health ministry and religious and academic representatives immediately pointed out that this was against all the laws of the country in this field. Despite these obstacles, and the threat by the Italian medical association that disciplinary action will taken against him if he continues with his plan, Dr Antinori has indicated that he has had many requests from couples, including those at his practice in Rome, for human cloning.
Countries
Italy