Viewing cable 03OTTAWA947, CLONING AND STEM CELL BILL PROGRESSING WELL

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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 OTTAWA 000947 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR OES/PCI, OES/STAS (NEUREITER/REYNOLDS), 
WHA/CAN (RUNNING) 
 
WHITE HOUSE FOR OSTP (GABRIEL & LEVINSON) 
 
HHS FOR OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, OFFICE OF 
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS (STEIGER) 
 
STATE PASS TO PRESIDENT'S COUNCIL ON BIOETHICS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TBIO PHUM TSPL SOCI KSCA CA
SUBJECT: CLONING AND STEM CELL BILL PROGRESSING WELL 
 
REF: (A) 2002 OTTAWA 1706 
 
 (B) 2002 OTTAWA 836 
 
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Summary 
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¶1. Bill C-13, "An Act Respecting Assisted Human 
Reproduction," was introduced into the Canadian House 
of Commons on October 9, 2002. If enacted, it would 
ban human cloning for both reproductive and 
research/therapeutic purposes. The legislation, itself 
a clone of Bill C-56 (Ref A), which died when 
Parliament was prorogued in September 2002, will 
prohibit cloning, as well as regulate Assisted Human 
Reproductive (AHR) activities and related research. The 
bill would allow research on human embryos that remain 
after fertility treatment. Such use would require free 
and informed consent by the parents, and would require 
a government license. To control activity involving 
new reproductive technologies, stem cells and cloning, 
the legislation proposes the establishment of a new 
agency, the Assisted Human Reproductive Agency of 
Canada. The bill is expected to pass final muster in 
the House of Commons within days and move on to 
scrutiny in the Canadian Senate. End summary. 
 
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Legislation prohibits and controls many activities 
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¶2. On October 9, 2002 Canadian Health Minister Anne 
McLellan introduced Bill C-13 (formerly C-56) "An Act 
Respecting Assisted Human Reproduction" into the House 
of Commons. It covers a number of controversial 
issues, including access to embryonic stem cells for 
research, cloning and surrogate motherhood. 
The final House of Commons vote on Bill C-13, is 
expected as early as April 3rd. If passed by the House 
of Commons, the bill will move to the Senate, where it 
will face light scrutiny in the Liberal-dominated 
chamber (which is characterized by its members being 
appointed by the Prime Minister rather than being 
elected through general elections). 
 
¶3. Prohibited Activities: The bill prohibits a number 
of specific activities that must not be carried out 
under any circumstances, including germ-line 
alteration, animal/human hybrids and the 
commercialization of procreation. These prohibited 
activities remain unchanged from the predecessor 
legislation (ref A). 
 
¶4. "Controlled Activities", on the other hand, may be 
carried out, but only in accordance with the 
legislation and regulations. The proposed law requires 
that a license be authorized for any activities related 
to maintenance/transportation/ or 
importation/exportation of an "in vitro" embryo. (It is 
interesting to note that proposed US cloning 
legislation (HR-534 and S-245), in addition to banning 
the commercialization of cloned embryos, also prohibits 
the importation of medical therapies created from 
cloned embryos. We will be watching whether this will 
have an impact on Canadian research efforts with 
embryos. End Comment.) 
 
¶5. Bill C-13, like its predecessor C-56, describes 
embryonic stem cell research as a controlled activity. 
While the legislation bans cloning and also the 
creation of embryos expressly for research, it permits 
the use of "surplus" embryos for extraction of stem 
cells. In addressing this issue, Bill C-13 specifies 
that licenses for such research may be issued only if 
researchers can satisfy the Agency that pre-existing 
embryonic stem cell lines or other means cannot be 
substituted. 
 
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Assisted Human Reproductive Agency proposed 
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¶6. To enforce the Act, license and manage controlled 
activities, such as performing research on surplus "in 
vitro" embryos, the bill calls for the establishment of 
the "Assisted Human Reproductive Agency of Canada." 
Reporting to the Minister of Health, the agency would 
have a broad mandate, including the collection, 
analysis and management of a vast array of personal 
information under the rubric of "health reporting 
information." 
 
 
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Comment 
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¶7. The Quebec-based Raelians' December 2002 claim they 
had successfully cloned a human being and that more 
were on the way, provoked a media frenzy and 
highlighted the pressing need for a law prohibiting 
human cloning. The timeliness of the bill, however, 
does not shield it from critics; leading research 
funding advocates such as the Juvenile Diabetes 
Research Foundation (JDRF) are making a final plea to 
parliamentarians to reconsider C-13's ban of 
therapeutic cloning of any kind (cloning or embryo- 
splitting) for any purpose, either reproduction or 
research. On the other hand, the Canadian Conference 
of Catholic Bishops is urging MPs to strengthen the 
bill, by amending it to prohibit research on surplus 
human embryos. Observers note, however, that 
amendments to this bill, particularly in the context of 
therapeutic cloning are unlikely. 
 
¶8. The complete text of Bill C-13, "An Act Respecting 
Assisted Human Reproduction" is available at the 
Canadian Parliament's website: www.parl.gc.ca. Look 
for C-13 under the rubric "Bills"; then "House of 
Commons"; then "Government Bills". 
 
Cellucci