Embryo cloning faces court challenge

LONDON, England -- A law passed in the UK allowing the creation of cloned human embryos has been legally challenged by anti-abortionists.

The British parliament passed the law on Monday under the 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act.

The legislation allows the destruction of embryos for stem cell research, and -- in a global first -- permitted cloning to create human embryos for the research.

But a court challenge by the ProLife Alliance lobby group means it will be months before the government can begin to license any research.

ProLife Alliance believes there is a loophole in the law that will allow the creation of cloned babies, despite regulators saying that that will not be authorised.

It plans to argue that embryos created by cloning do not fit the definition of embryo under existing legislation because fertilisation is not involved.

Therefore, the group contends, such cloned embryos are not subject to regulation under the act.

Justice Jeremy Sullivan said the case will not come to court before June.

"This is a case where it is better to get it right than get it rushed," Sullivan said.

While acknowledging government plans to introduce laws banning human reproductive cloning, ProLife said it feared politicians have failed to appreciate the urgency of the situation.

"Confusion increases as the government claims on one hand that cloning is covered by the act, while at the same time suggesting that a specific bill will be necessary to prohibit reproductive cloning," the group said in a statement.

Cloned embryos would be made by replacing the nucleus of an egg with that of a cell taken from a person's body.

The embryo would be genetically identical to the person whose cell was inserted in the egg.

Scientists believe that by creating cloned embryos from patients, they will be able to extract stem cells that are perfectly matched for transplant.

Stem cells are the master cells found in embryos that give rise to all other cells in the body.

Doctors hope they will be able to cure or treat hundreds of diseases by directing stem cells to develop into any type of tissue needed for transplant.

Extracting stem cells involves destroying the embryo.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) told the court it had decided not to grant any licenses until the case had been heard.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Bush said on Friday that federal money should not pay for research on fetal tissue or stem cells derived from abortions.

"I do not support research from aborted fetuses," he said.

He did not say whether he would move to block federal research funding -- an act that many scientists say could stop promising research into therapies for numerous diseases.

Bush had indicated his opposition to such research during the presidential campaign, but the remarks Friday were his first on the topic since taking over the White House a week ago.

Stem cells can come from aborted fetuses or from embryos left over from fertility clinics.

A few also can be found from adult tissues, but scientists say fetal and embryonic stem cells are the most flexible and thus most usable.

Bush did not specifically address embryonic stem cells.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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