Probably to little to late....Australia parliament approves new stem cell legislation
Wed Dec 11, 5:54 AM ET
CANBERRA, Australia - Australia's parliament on Wednesday gave final approval to new legislation allowing limited experimentation on human stem cells, which religious leaders oppose but which scientists hope will lead to new cures.
The bill, which sets up national rules regulating stem cell research, can now be signed into law by Australia's governor general, a constitutional formality expected to be complete by the year's end.
Last week, the Senate passed the legislation after more than 50 hours of often emotional debate, making minor amendments that required the bill be returned to the lower house. The changes were approved quickly on Wednesday by the House of Representatives.
Under the new laws, research for an initial three years would be limited to about 60,000 embryos in freezers stored in-vitro fertilization clinics by April 5, 2002 — the date Prime Minister John Howard and state political leaders agreed on national legislation.
When the three years expire, the use of surplus embryos created in IVF programs after April 5, 2002, might be allowed, but only if state governments are convinced they can ensure research procedures do not encourage the creation of embryos purely for research.
Scientists hope to use stem cells from human embryos to find cures for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other debilitating diseases. The cells' medical potential comes from the fact they have not yet differentiated into any of the 220 cell types that make up the human body.
In an unusual step, lawmakers were not told by their parties how to vote and given freedom to vote according to their conscience.
The Australian arm of the Roman Catholic Church had objected that the legislation would allow the intentional destruction of embryos. |
