Politics
Monday August 20, 2007
See today's LifeSiteNews stories
Clone a Human, Get $500,000 says Aussie State Premier
By Hilary White
SYDNEY, August 20, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Premier Morris Iemma, Premier of the state of New South Wales, has offered a grant of $500,000 to the first researchers to succsessfully create Australia’s first cloned human beings.
This June, the state parliament of New South Wales voted to overturn the previous ban on creating cloned humans for research. The lower house voted 65-26 to reinstate cloning with the strict “ethical” proviso that the embryos would be killed and harvested for stem cells thus never allowed to come to term.
Iemma also promised a special $11.5 million fund to develop cloning and embryonic stem cell research in the state.
“Put simply, this funding will enable NSW scientists to undertake work we hope will result in the creation of the country's first stemcell lines derived from somatic-cell nuclear transfer embryos. In fact, if successful it could well be a world first,” he said.
The new legislation, put forward by Iemma, also allows the creation of human/animal hybrids, the creation of embryos from more than two donors and the use of ova from aborted baby girls to create embryos in the lab.
The Australian government has attempted to silence principled opposition to the legislation. Archbishop Hickey of Perth was placed under a parliamentary investigation when he said politicians voting in favour of the legislation are acting against the teaching of the Church and ought to refrain from receiving Communion.
Fred Riebeling, the speaker of the West Australian legislative assembly, called the statement a “threat” and said he wanted to question the archbishop before an investigative committee. The Australian reported that Archbishop Hickey can expect a formal reprimand but is unlikely to be questioned by a Parliamentary committee.
West Australian Attorney-General Jim McGinty said it was "fundamental that you cannot threaten or intimidate a member of parliament as to the way in which they'll vote on a particular issue".
Read Related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Cardinal George Pell May Withhold Communion From New South Wales Premier Over Cloning
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/jun/07060511.html
Australian Archbishop Under Investigation for Telling Anti-Life Catholic Politicians not to Receive Communion
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/jun/07060708.html
Back to TopSHARE THIS STORY: E-mail Print Newsvine Digg Reddit Del.icio.us Facebook
Latest Headlines
- Canada's Governor General Agrees to Suspend Parliament
- Study Shows Fertility Patients Want Frozen Embryonic Children Buried
- Planned Parenthood Suspends Employee Caught Covering Up Rape of 13-Year-Old
- Grand Duke of Luxembourg Loses Power After Threatening Veto of Euthanasia Law
- Vatican Archbishop Defends Rights of Parents to Educational Choice
- Movie Reviewer for Catholic Bishops' Conference Praises Homosexualist Film - Again
- Vatican Attacked for Defending Natural Family
- Shock: Evangelical Leader Believes in Gay Civil Unions, Says OK to Vote for Obama
- U.K. Catholic Diocese will Continue to Collect Funds for Secularised Adoption Agency
- Too Much Television, Internet Linked to Long-Term Health Problems for Children
- Pro-Abortion Cherie Blair to Speak at Prominent Pontifical University of St. Thomas in Rome
- Purchase of Christmas Music CD By Pro-Life Priest is Great Way to Support LifeSiteNews
Most Read this Week
- Behind the Scenes of Volition: Coincidences and Startling Circumstances
- Ad Showing Woman Seducing Santa Promotes Free Morning-After Pills and Condoms for Christmas
- Movie Reviewer for Catholic Bishops' Conference Praises Homosexualist Film - Again
- A Painful, Disease-Ridden Death Isn’t So Bad if You’re Just a White, Heterosexual Male
- Abortion Now Number One Cause of Death in Spain
- Catholic Bishop: "Go Right Ahead and Arrest Me" Rather than Obey Freedom of Choice Act
- UK Catholic Adoption Agencies Voluntarily Refuse Religious Opt-Out Clause for Homosexual Adoption
- God is Pro-Choice Says Nun
- University of Calgary Pro-Life Students Victorious - Administration Backs Down from Arrest Threats
- IKEA’s Polish Catalogue Introduces “Ian and Steve” as a Model of the New Family
MORE NEWS: 
LifeSiteNews.com Home Page Last 10 Days Archives Special Reports
Copyright © LifeSiteNews.com. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives License. You may republish this article or portions of it without request provided the content is not altered and it is clearly attributed to "LifeSiteNews.com". Any website publishing of complete or large portions of original LifeSiteNews articles MUST additionally include a live link to www.LifeSiteNews.com. The link is not required for excerpts. Republishing of articles on LifeSiteNews.com from other sources as noted is subject to the conditions of those sources.