Part IV: The International Situation

6. Australia, New Zealand and Asia

Australia: The federal government passed a law in 2002 legalizing stem-cell research. In June, 2007, the government of New South Wales passed legislation to lift a ban on human cloning allowing researchers to clone and destroy human embryos for stem-cell research. In April 2004, Australia granted licences to two in-vitro fertilization clinics to begin using "excess" embryonic humans for research purposes.

China: China has one of the most permissive embryonic stem cell research policies in the world but its policies of restricting information to the public and to foreign journalists make it difficult to ascertain exactly what research is and is not allowed. In 2003, the Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Health issued official ethical guidelines for human embryonic stem cell research in its territories. The guidelines forbid only human “reproductive” cloning and allow research on embryos obtained from:

• Spare gamete or blastocysts after in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures;
• Foetal cells from accidental spontaneous or voluntarily selected abortions;
• Blastocyst or parthenogenetic split blastocyst obtained by somatic cell nuclear transfer technology; or
• Germ cells voluntarily donated.

Chinese researchers are moving ahead on a number of fronts, including the creation of cloned human/animal hybrids. On September 7, 2001 a report was published in Beijing Youth Daily: Professor Chen Xigu in the Experimental Animal Center of Sun Yat-sen University, transferred a skin cell nucleus from a 7 year old boy into a rabbit's denucleated egg, and created an embryo. The aim was reported to be to use cloning to develop cures for such illnesses as diabetes and Parkinson's disease.

It has been observed[1] that the Chinese cultural tradition of Confucianism to a certain extent precludes the kind of ethical reservations about the moral status of the embryo that is common in the West. Dr. Yanguang Wang, Ph.D., M.D., a self-described “Chinese bioethicist”, wrote that senior bioethicist Professor Renzong Qiu argued that under the Confucian philosophy, backed up by Marxist theory, “a person begins with birth. A person is an entity that has a body or shape and psyche, and has rational, emotional and social-relational capacity. So a human embryo is not a person, a personal life. Destroying an embryo as well as an abortion should not be taken as killing a person.”

India: “Ethical Policies on the Human Genome, Genetic Research and Services,” Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India (June 2001). “Policies: Gene Therapy and Human Cloning. Considering the present state of knowledge, germline therapy in humans shall be proscribed. However, research on embryonic stem cell biology may be undertaken with adequate safety measures. As a principle, human cloning shall not be permitted.”

Japan: Embryonic stem cell research and therapeutic cloning are permitted, but “reproductive” cloning is banned. Production of cloned human embryos will be limited to basic research or regenerative medicine only (Bioethics Committee of the Council for Science and Technology Policy).

New Zealand[2]: Embryonic stem cell research and therapeutic cloning are permitted, but “reproductive” cloning is banned. In 2004, the Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill was amended to ban “reproductive” cloning and genetically engineered babies. In 2006 the New Zealand government budgeted $500,000 per year to fund the eugenic practice of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). It was noted that the 2004 New Zealand legislation used the Canadian bill as a template for its prohibitions and restrictions.

Singapore: On 21 June 2002 the Bioethics Advisory Committee of Singapore (BAC) released a report on “Ethical, Legal and Social Issues in Human Stem Cell Research, Reproductive and Therapeutic Cloning.” The BAC recommends a complete ban on reproductive cloning and would permit therapeutic cloning only under strict regulations. Recommendation 7 states: “There should be a complete ban on the implantation of a human embryo created by the application of cloning technology into a womb, or any treatment of a human embryo intended to result in its development into a viable infant.”

The report also concluded that creation of human embryos either by IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) or by SCNT (Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer) for research purposes can only be justified where

• there is strong scientific merit in, and potential medical benefit from, such research;
• no acceptable alternative exists, and
• on a highly selective, case-by-case basis, with specific approval from the proposed statutory body.

On 18 July 2002, the government approved the BAC recommendations.

South Korea:“Life Ethics Law” 29 January 2004. The Life Ethics Law regulates embryonic stem cell research. According to the law only supernumerary embryos produced for infertility treatments can be used for research, therefore the creation of embryos for purposes other than infertility treatment is prohibited. However, the government will approve limited research on somatic cell nuclear transfer based on the guidelines drawn up by the National Ethics Committees. Human “reproductive” cloning is prohibited and subject to criminal sanctions for up to ten years in prison.(“Biological Ethics Bill Passed by National Assembly,” Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare, Press Release (14 January 2004)). “Guidelines on the Safety of Biotechnology Research,” Ministry of Health and Welfare (December 2000). The guidelines prohibit the manipulation of the human germline, the creation of IVF embryos solely for research purposes and the cloning human beings.

Vietnam: Embryonic stem cell research is not specifically prohibited, but therapeutic and “reproductive” cloning are. Human cloning and surrogacy banned as of May 2003.

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[1] Yanguang Wang, Ph.D., M.D. Centre for Bioethics, Institute of Philosophy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, ‘Chinese Ethical Views on Embryo Stem (ES) Cell Research” http://www.eubios.info/ABC4/abc4049.htm

[2] “Cloning Bill for New Zealand called ‘Better than Nothing’” http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2004/nov/04111207.html