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Australia - law passed in 2002The Australian government passed legislation in 2002 to allow the use of embryos from IVF procedures to obtain embryonic stem cells. The government also legislated to ban the use of human cloning for reproductive purposes. 2002 Legislation Overview and Result: * The Bill was introduced to the federal parliament in July 2002. Read our News report . * House of Representatives Vote: the House of Representatives voted to allow research on embryos on 25 September 2002. The vote was 99 in favour, 33 opposed. For a full list of how the MPs voted, see the "House of Representatives vote 25 Sept 2002" at the bottom of this link. * Senate: The Senate sent the bill to an Inquiry by the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee . The Senate received the report from the Inquiry on 24 October 2002. 2002 Campaign The following information was posted during the 2002 campaign to oppose the legislation. The documents mentioned are posted on the main 'Cloning/Stem Cells' page - click here. 16 July - NEW articles Contact your 12 Senators NOW!!! Click here for suggested action. The Senate will receive the report from the Inquiry on 24 October 2002. added: Cloning and stem cell research have been in the news ever since Dolly the sheep was 'cloned' in Scotland. Some scientists say that embryonic stem cells are important because they have the ability to differentiate into a variety of cell types. They claim that embryonic stem cells can provide cures to a variety of illnesses - but such cures have not yet been developed. Some scientists argue that surplus embryos left over from IVF procedures could be used since they 'will be destroyed anyway'. For Christians, the important factor is that when stem cells are harvested from an embryo the embryo is destroyed or killed. Adult Stem Cells are the best solution The best news is that a lot of recent research has found that adult stem cells can be harvested from, say, bone marrow, and these are able to change into other cells. Since the cells would be taken from the person's own body, they would not be rejected if used as a cure and they do not pose cause ethical problems. Government decision The federal government met with the States at the Council of Australian Governments meeting (COAG) on 5 April 2002 AD to discuss this matter. They supported this proposal but reduced the restrictions slightly. The "COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS - COMMUNIQUE" sets out the agreed outcomes from the meeting. We believe that there should be a total ban on using embryos for stem cell research, including embryos from IVF programs. There should also be a ban on cloning technology (such as somatic cell nuclear transfer) used for such purposes as well as a ban on cloning an actual human. Proposed Legislation: It is IMPORTANT that we write to our MPs - ask them to vote against the Bill. Click here for suggested action. Articles and resources Some NEW articles (added 16 July 2002): * Briefing Note on Adult Stem Cells (including some comparisons with embryonic stem cells) by Dr Greg Pike of the Southern Cross Bioethics Institute. * Embryonic Stem Cell Research and Cloning - A 46 page Information Kit from Guy Barnett, Liberal Senator for Tasmania. Useful articles and information from one of the MPs fighting against using embryo stem cells. * A copy of the proposed legislation. The following articles are attached below: * Keep Stem Cells Adult Only - April 2002 AD. * The Stem Cell Debate - a new article (April 10, 2002AD) from Bill Muehlenberg. * The Full Story on Stem Cells by Marcia Riordan (April 2002 AD Journal). * Why Therapeutic Cloning is Ethically Unsound by Dr Greg Pike. * Adult Stem Cells by Dr Greg Pike. The remaining articles below are our recent letters/submissions to MPs. Use them for information to write your own letters. Website: The website www.stemcellresearch.org provides up to date information on successful research using ADULT Stem cells. |