Stem Cell Bill Passes in Australia

nickd writes "Having recently being passed in the Senate by only 2 votes, an Australian bill to overturn the ban on 'theraputic cloning' has now been passed in the House of Representatives by 82-62. The amendment that was seeking to prevent stem cells being extracted from the eggs of aborted late term female fetuses has also been voted down. The changes will allow scientists to create and use embryos up to 14 days old for research."

Comments

Repurcusions for the U.S.?

[Salvance]

If we begin seeing stem cell harvesting/research being allowed in other industrial countries, what are the repurcussions for the U.S.? I don't think we can hold out forever, at some point I'd expect some researches to start moving to more hospitable countries, and pharmaceutical companies in those countries (such as Australia) taking a definitive lead in stem cell therapy and research. As a nation, can we afford to just let the world pass us, even if there are "moral" concerns regarding the technology by our government?

Re:Good

[ArcherB]

Glad some country isn't taking Christian fundamentalist BS.

WOW! I smoke, drink, do drugs and download porn. I had no idea I was a fundamentalist!

What happens when they pass a law that allows for experimentation on people your age?

Once again, people are asking the wrong question.

[Baba Ram Dass]

Don't ban cloning, but don't pay for it with my taxes.

Everyone wins. The fundamentalists don't have to finance something they don't agree with, yet modern science is allowed to continue promising research.