BIOTECHNOLOGY LEGISLATION - CLONING AND EMBRYONIC RESEARCH IN AUSTRALIA: A REVIEW OF THE LEGISLATIVE POSITION

Controversy over the use of cloning technology in humans has once again arisen with Advanced Cell Technology (ACT) reporting that it has cloned the first early human embryo in Massachusetts, United States. This paper:
- discusses some of the issues specific to ACT's research - i.e. the cloning of an early human embryo as opposed to the cloning of a living human being; and
-reviews the current legislative framework in Australia, both at the Commonwealth and State levels, regulating the use of cloning techniques in humans, and discusses the basis upon which such a framework may permit ACT's research to be undertaken in Australia.