CATHOLIC and pro-life groups have strongly condemned an independent review for the Federal Government that recommends allowing scientists to clone human embryos for research.
The report from the independent inquiry, chaired by former Federal Court judge John Lockhart, argues that cloning could lead to breakthroughs in medical treatment.
The Lockhart Report, released on December 19, calls for cloning and embryo research laws to be dramatically relaxed, setting the stage for a debate about medical ethics in Federal Parliament next year.
Queensland Bioethics Centre director Ray Campbell said the recommendations contained in the report were “tragic”.
He said all Australians should let the Prime Minister and other politicians know that they do not want human cloning and all the other aberrations recommended by the Lockhart Committee.
Queensland Right to Life president Dr Donna Purcell said the recommendation was “unnecessary and wrong” and no human life should ever be produced to be destroyed for the benefit of another.
She said Griffith University researchers, led by Professor Alan Mackay-Sim, had made recent developments using adult stem cells, which can be harvested from the lining in nasal tissue.
Queensland Nationals Senator Ron Boswell said he would be opposing the recommendation of the Lockhart Review Committee’s report.
