ABSTRACT
One commentator has argued that the process of human cloning would ‘empty the process of human reproduction’ (Duddington (1999)). On the question of therapeutic cloning, the HGAC has stressed that it is important to make the distinction between human embryo research, which may be permitted under licence under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 (HFEA 1990) and reproductive cloning, where an embryo is implanted in a woman’s womb. The Warnock Committee concluded, in 1984, that ‘the embryo of the human species ought to have a special status’, which should be enshrined in legislation. The Committee stated that this special status should not afford the human embryo the same status as a living child or adult, but did not mean that human embryos should be used frivolously or unnecessarily. The Committee went on to conclude that the special status of the embryo would permit some embryo research up to the 14th day of development provided the research was strictly controlled and monitored. The recommendations of the Warnock Committee were included in the provisions of the 1990 Act, which allows research to be carried out on embryos up to 14 days’ development under licence from the HFEA within certain restrictions.
