In May 2005 this same group announced they had achieved major advances in the efficiency of creating human cloned embryos using SCNT and in isolating human stem cells from the cloned embryos. Cloning Attempts in the United Kingdom and United States

Scientists in the United Kingdom, at the University of Newcastle and the University of Edinburgh, and scientists in the United States, at Harvard University, Advanced Cell Technology and the University of California in San Francisco, are working on deriving patient-matched stem cells from cloned human embryos. Scientists at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute intend to produce cloned human embryos for research studies on juvenile diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and several other diseases. The NIH Guidelines on Stem Cell Research , published by the Clinton Administration in August 2000, would not have funded research in which: human stem cells are used for reproductive cloning of a human; human stem cells are derived using SCNT; or, human stem cells that were derived using SCNT are utilized in a research project. Actions During the Current Bush Administration

On August 9, 2001, President Bush announced that for the first time federal funds would be used to support research on human embryonic stem cells, but funding would be limited to "existing stem cell lines." On January 18, 2002, the National Academies released its report, entitled Scientific and Medical Aspects of Human Reproductive Cloning . The panel recommended that the U.S. ban human reproductive cloning. The ban should be legally enforceable, rather than voluntary, and carry substantial penalties. However, the panel concluded that research using SCNT to produce stem cells should be permitted because of the considerable potential for developing new therapies and advancing biomedical knowledge. 810 (Castle), the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, passed the House on May 24, 2005, on a vote of 238-194. It would amend the Public Health Service Act and direct the Secretary of HHS to conduct and support research that utilizes human embryonic stem cells regardless of the date on which the stem cells were derived from a human embryo. On July 18, 2006, the Senate passed H.R. 810 , the first veto of his six years in office. An attempt in the House on July 19 to override the veto of H.R. 1357 amends Title 18 of the United States Code and would ban the process of human cloning as well as the importation of any product derived from an embryo created via cloning. 1357 is essentially identical to the measure which passed the House in the 107 th Congress ( H.R. 2505 ) and the 108 th Congress ( H.R. Both bills would ban human reproductive cloning but allow cloning for medical research purposes, including stem cell research. Critics of the ban on human cloning argue that SCNT creates a "clump of cells" rather than an embryo, and that the ban would curtail medical research and prevent Americans from receiving life-saving treatments created overseas. In July 2004, Dr. Paul McHugh, a member of the President's Council who objects to the destruction of human embryos and who had voted with the Council majority for a moratorium on cloning-for-biomedical research, argued in a medical journal article that SCNT "resembles a tissue culture," and that the products of SCNT should be available for research once regulations are in place to ensure that SCNT is conducted ethically. The National Academies also recommended a ban on reproductive cloning, and did not call it temporary but did add that it should be reconsidered every five years. One related issue, that of the use of federal funding for therapeutic cloning, has also been discussed.
In December 2005, an investigation by Seoul National University, South Korea, found that scientist Hwang Woo Suk had fabricated results on deriving patient-matched stem cells from cloned embryosâa major setback for the field. In May 2005 Hwang had announced a significant advance in creating human embryos using cloning methods and in isolating human stem cells from cloned embryos. These developments have contributed to the debate in the 109 th Congress on the moral and ethical implications of human cloning. Scientists in other labs, including Harvard University and the University of California at San Francisco, intend to produce cloned human embryos in order to derive stem cells for medical research on diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and other diseases.
President Bush announced in August 2001 that for the first time federal funds would be used to support research on human embryonic stem cells, but funding would be limited to "existing stem cell lines." Federal funds can not be used for the cloning of human embryos for any purpose, including stem cell research. In July 2002 the President's Council on Bioethics released its report on human cloning which unanimously recommended a ban on reproductive cloning and, by a vote of 10 to 7, a four-year moratorium on cloning for medical research purposes. The ethical issues surrounding reproductive cloning (commodification, safety, identity ), and therapeutic cloning (embryos' moral status, relief of suffering), impact various proposals for regulation, restrictions, bans, and uses of federal funding. In January 2002, the National Academies released Scientific and Medical Aspects of Human Reproductive Cloning . It recommended that the U.S. ban human reproductive cloning aimed at creating a child. It suggested the ban be enforceable and carry substantial penalties. The panel noted that the ban should be reconsidered within five years. However, the panel concluded that cloning to produce stem cells should be permitted because of the potential for developing new therapies and advancing biomedical knowledge.
On May 24, 2005, the House passed H.R. 810 (Castle), which would allow federal support of research that uses human embryonic stem cells regardless of the date on which the stem cells were derived from a human embryo, thus negating the Bush stem cell policy limitation on "existing stem cell lines." In July of 2006, the Senate passed H.R. 810 and President Bush vetoed it, the first veto of his presidency. An attempt in the House to override the veto was unsuccessful. Action on the Weldon bill (which passed the House in the 108 th Congress and stalled in the Senate) is also possible; it was reintroduced in the 109 th Congress as H.R. 1357 and S. 658 (Brownback). The bill bans the process of cloning as well as the importation of any product derived from an embryo created via cloning. It bans not only reproductive applications, but also research on therapeutic uses, which has implications for stem cell research. Advocates of the legislative ban say that allowing any form of human cloning research to proceed raises serious ethical issues and will inevitably lead to the birth of a baby that is a human clone. Critics of the ban argue that the measure would curtail medical research and prevent Americans from receiving life-saving treatments created overseas. This report will be updated as needed.