EU Sets Rules for Embryo Research

European Commissioner for Research Busquin said in Brussels on Wednesday the main thrust of the guidelines was to prevent the creation of embryos for research rather than using existing ones. Most of the embryos used in research are leftovers from fertility treatment, when extra embryos are created to increase the chances of pregnancy. Unused embryos are either destroyed or frozen for later use in research.

The commissioner (photo) said embryos could only be used with the parents' consent. He said the guidelines prohibited the use of embryos created after June 27, 2002, the day on which the latest EU research framework was adopted. The program, which runs until 2006, has earmarked more than €2 billion for biotechnology research. Funding would only go to scientists in countries where national laws do not prohibit the procedures.

The move is aimed at heading off a total ban on the controversial technology. At the moment, a moratorium is in place, and since the beginning of the year, no EU money has been granted to scientists who create embryos to carry out the research. European Commission research spokesman Fabio Fabbi told Reuters News Agency "The research moratorium finishes at the end of 2003 and we want to have comprehensive guidelines in place." The proposals must now be approved by the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament.

Cure for disease vs. designer baby theories

Scientists say the research could produce cures for diabetes, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, and that stem cells can be used to help restore the functions of damaged or failed organs. Opponents of the use of embryonic stem cells accuse scientists of "playing God" and say the new technology will inevitably be abused, resulting in human cloning and what they call "designer babies." The procedure is also controversial because the embryos are killed when the stem cells are harvested.

Stem cells are considered the "master cells" in the human body. Embryonic cells can grow to form more than 200 different kinds of tissue. One way of making them is what's known as therapeutic cloning, effectively by creating embryos so that the stem cells can be used for therapeutic purposes. Adult stem cells are to be found in many organs, but their use for creating other kinds of tissue is limited. However, their use for medical purposes is also far less controversial.

Guidelines delayed by German resistance

The new proposals were scheduled to be adopted last week, but those plans were thwarted by stiff resistance from some member states, notably Germany. Last year, the German parliament passed a law banning the creation of human embryos or the use of human embryos created in Germany for scientific purposes, but allowing the import of embryos in exceptional cases of "high-priority research goals." Only embryos created before January 1, 2002, are allowed to be imported, and so far, licenses have been granted to just three scientists to do so.

The laws are similarly strict in France, Spain, Austria, Ireland and Denmark. Research into leftover embryos is legal in Britain.

In Germany, critics of the new guidelines argue that they are looser than domestic law, meaning German money paid into EU coffers could be used to fund research elsewhere in Europe, while scientists who carried out the same research in Germany would face criminal charges.

The German education and research minister, Edelgard Bulmahn (photo), of the Social Democrats, has come under fire for her role in the negotiations. Hiltrud Breyer, a Member of the European Parliament and the Green Party, said the minister was not outspoken enough. Her fellow MEP, Peter Liese, a Christian Democrat, said Bulmahn didn't get involved in the process of drafting the guidelines early enough.