Human Reproductive Cloning Act 2001

Human Reproductive Cloning Act 2001 ^[a]

Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to prohibit the placing in a woman of a human embryo which has been created otherwise than by fertilisation.
Citation	2001 c. 23
Territorial extent	United Kingdom [b]
Dates
Royal assent	4 December 2001
Commencement	4 December 2001 [c]
Repealed	1 October 2009
Other legislation Repealed by Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended

The Human Reproductive Cloning Act 2001 (c. 23) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom "to prohibit the placing in a woman of a human embryo which has been created otherwise than by fertilisation". The act received royal assent on 4 December 2001.

On 14 January 2001, the British government passed the Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Research Purposes) Regulations 2001 (SI 2001/188) ^[1] to amend the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 by extending allowable reasons for embryo research, to permit research around stem cells and cell nuclear replacement, thus allowing therapeutic cloning. However, on 15 November 2001, a pro-life group won a High Court legal challenge, which struck down the regulation and effectively left all forms of cloning unregulated in the UK. Their hope was that Parliament would fill this gap by passing prohibitive legislation. ^{[2] [3]} Parliament was quick to pass the Human Reproductive Cloning Act 2001 in order to explicitly prohibit reproductive cloning. The remaining gap with regard to therapeutic cloning was closed when the appeals courts reversed the previous decision of the High Court. ^[4]

The act was repealed and replaced by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008.

Notes

1. Section 2(1).
2. Section 2(2)–(3).
3. Section 4(b) of the Interpretation Act 1978.

References

1. Statutory Instrument 2001 No. 188 Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Research Purposes) Regulations
2. SD Pattinson (2006), Medical Law and Ethics, Sweet & Maxwell, ISBN   978-0-421-88950-7
3. "Campaigners win cloning challenge". BBC News Online . 15 November 2001.
4. "Lords uphold cloning law". BBC News Online . 13 March 2003.

External links

• Text of the Human Reproductive Cloning Act 2001 as originally enacted or made within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk .