OPPONENTS of cloning stood accused of foul play this week as they attempted to drive through a UN ban on all forms of human cloning, including therapeutic cloning for treating diseases. The crucial vote at the UN had not been taken as New 杏吧原创 went to press, but was 鈥渢oo close to call鈥� according to an insider.
Through a legal ploy that supporters of therapeutic cloning believe is unconstitutional, Costa Rica attempted to overturn a November decision by the UN鈥檚 legal committee to suspend talks on a cloning treaty for two years. Backed by the US, the Vatican and others, Costa Rica attempted to resurrect its own proposal for a total ban through a snap vote in the UN General Assembly.
鈥淲hat the US is trying to do in the UN is an outright abuse of the international legal system,鈥� says Ronald Green, who chairs the cloning ethics board of Advanced Cell Technology, a Massachusetts cloning company.
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