AMA Seeks 5-Year Cloning Moratorium

The American Medical Assn. called for a voluntary five-year moratorium on human cloning and urged Congress not to enact any ban that would hinder research. The board of trustees of the largest U.S. doctors’ group said it backs research important to human health and said lawmakers should not interfere with current human, animal or cellular cloning research not directly aimed at producing a human being. “This decision comes as a consequence of the board’s belief that the scientific and ethical issues dealing with human cloning require careful and deliberate consideration,” Thomas Reardon, chairman of the board, said in a written statement.