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No to cloning

No to cloning TWENTY European countries recently signed a treaty which effectively bans human cloning. They signed the first international convention to control research into human genetic engineering and cloning at the Convention on Human Rights and Bio-medicine in Oviedo, Spain. The accord prohibits the use of genetic engineering techniques for anything other than medical purposes. The treaty specifically forbids the production of human embryos exclusively for research purposes and prevents parents from using in-vitro fertilisation techniques to choose the sex of their children. "This agreement is based on the general principle that the interests and rights of individual humans must prevail over the interests of science," said Spain's health minister Jose Manuel Romay. Several Asian and American countries are expected to sign the treaty.

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