Regulating stem cell research and human cloning in an Australian context: the Lockhart Review

Abstract

In late 2002 the federal Australian government developed legislation explicitly intended to govern both stem cell research and human cloning. Together, the Prohibition of Human Cloning Act 2002 and the Research Involving Human Embryos Act 2002 provided a comprehensive national framework for the licensed use of excess assisted reproductive technology (ART) embryos in research and a complete ban on all types of human cloning. Both pieces of legislation contained review clauses stating that each Act be concurrently and independently reviewed by the same committee in 2005, three years after receiving royal assent. The years between the initialization of the legislation and the outcome of the review process have resulted in some significant transformations in how stem cell science and human cloning are viewed in Australia. This paper will discuss those changes and the shift in attitude they represent.

Keywords:

• stem cells
• regulation
• Australia

Notes

1. Two Australian stem cell researchers have already gone to the US (Riley 2006).