(Angus Reid Global Scan) - Many adults in the United States believe cloning technology should be harnessed to help in the search for possible cures and treatments for diseases and disabilities, according to a poll by Charlton Research Co. for Research!America and Parade. 59 per cent of respondents support allowing therapeutic cloning.

Support for the use of cloning technology to create a human being is considerably lower. 79 per cent of respondents believe reproductive cloning should not be allowed.

On May 19, South Korean researchers Hwang Woo-suk and Moon Shin-yong revealed they had used the method of therapeutic cloning to produce 11 embryonic human stem cell lines that are actual genetic matches of patients.

On May 20, U.S. president George W. Bush discussed the South Korean discovery, saying, "I worry about a world in which cloning becomes acceptable." In August 2001, Bush cited ethical questions in his rationale to ban federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.

Human stem cells come from embryos left over from in-vitro fertilization, which are habitually destroyed. These cells can develop into various tissues in the human body. Some scientists believe the research could be useful in the creation of new organs and in the treatment of diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

In February 2003, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 241-155 to endorse the Human Cloning Prohibition Act, which makes it a federal offence to perform human cloning in order to create a pregnancy or for medical research purposes, as well as to import a cloned human embryo or any product derived from one.

Polling Data

Therapeutic cloning is the use of cloning technology to help in the search for possible cures and treatments for diseases and disabilities. Do you think that research into therapeutic cloning should be allowed?

Reproductive cloning is the use of cloning technology to create a child. Do you think that research into reproductive cloning should be allowed?

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