UK government approves limited cloning of human embryos

Medical professionals should be allowed to carry out a limited form of human cloning, an expert panel told the UK government last month.

A final decision on the issue will be left to a free vote of MPs, but the government has endorsed the recommendations put forward by the chief medical officer's expert group on therapeutic cloning.

Proposals put forward by the panel in its report include:

• Approval should be given for the use of early embryos to investigate the potential of new medical treatments

• All research proposals should be scrutinised by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority

• Permission should be granted only when it can be shown …