UN votes to ban human cloning

"By a vote of 84 in favor, 34 against and 37 abstaining, with 36 absent, the UN today approved a declaration calling on all UN Member States to ban all forms of human cloning, including cloning for medical treatment, as incompatible with human dignity and the protection of human life.

While in general agreement, some delegates said they opposed banning therapeutic cloning. The Declaration, negotiated by a Working Group last month, also banned 'genetic engineering techniques that may be contrary to human dignity' and called for a prevention of the exploitation of women and adequate protection for human life in the application of life sciences. The Declaration has been welcomed by many as a clear expression of the ethical norms that should guide scientific research."

From this Biology News post.