Saturday, February 15, 2003
Vietnam to ban human cloning and surrogacy
Press Trust of India Hanoi, February 15
The Vietnamese government approved this week a decree banning human cloning, surrogacy and all means of choosing the sex of embryos, state media said on Saturday.
The law, which will come into effect by May 1, will prohibit cloning of humans in all cases and the diagnoses of an embryo's sex due to the boy-biased psychology of Vietnamese people, the Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper said.
However, the decree allows the application of reproductive technologies, such as in vitro fertilisation.
Foreigners can use assisted reproductive technology services in Vietnam, but they are banned from donating or receiving eggs, sperm and embryos. Each year in Vietnam around one million couples seek fertility treatment, the newspaper added.
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