Using human embryos for any purpose other than to create a baby is highly controversial.

For some people, destroying a human embryo to provide a cure for a disease is wholly unacceptable. For others it is acceptable if the embryo is young enough and the disease serious enough.

To form a law which either bans or permits the use of embryos in medical research, law makers must debate all the issues with scientists, religious leaders, bio-ethicists, pressure groups and members of the public.

The cultural and historical variety within Europe has led each country to form slightly different laws on the use of embryos. In some cases, what is legal in one country is banned in another.

Find out about the following issues.

Is it legal to use human embryos in medical research?
Is it legal to create an embryo purely for medical research?
Is it legal to use human embryos to produce stem cells?
Is it legal to clone a human embryo for medical research (therapeutic cloning)?
Is there a law banning reproductive cloning?

Click on a flag to view the answers for that country. Click here to view by issue.

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United Kingdom

Is it legal to use human embryos in medical research?
Yes, in Britain this is legal under strict licensing laws.

Since 1990, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act has permitted research on human embryos for a few specific reasons. These include research into miscarriage, infertility and genetic disease.

In 2001, this Act was amended to allow the use of embryos for research into serious diseases and their treatments, and for research into the development of human embryos.

In all cases, the embryos must be destroyed within 14 days of fertilisation.

Is it legal to create an embryo purely for medical research?
Yes, in Britain this is legal if consent has been given. Before any eggs and sperm are collected, the donors must sign a consent form saying what their eggs and sperm could be used for in a variety of situations, for example if they should die, or if any eggs are left over.

If consent has been given, eggs and sperm can be used to create new embryos which will only ever be used for medical research, before being destroyed. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act applies equally to all embryos, whether created to implant into a woman, or purely for medical research.

Is it legal to use human embryos to produce stem cells?
Yes, in Britain using embryos to produce stem cells is legal. Since 2001, it has been legal to use embryos in this way to find cures for serious diseases. Research is only permitted under a licence from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. As with all embryo research, embryos can only be grown for 14 days after fertilisation - at the end of the 14th day they must be destroyed (although in reality embryos do not survive this long in culture).

Is it legal to clone a human embryo for medical research (therapeutic cloning)?
Yes, in Britain this was made legal in January 2001 by the 2001 amendments to the 1990, Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act. This type of cloning is called therapeutic cloning and is used to produce stem cells to cure serious diseases.

In response to the 2001 amendment (which allowed therapeutic cloning), anti-abortion campaigners from the Pro-Life Alliance launched a legal battle in an attempt to block therapeutic cloning. The British High Court ruled that a cloned embryo was indeed different from an 'ordinary' embryo and so was not covered under the 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act. Therefore, research using cloned embryos should not be allowed as there was no law to regulate it.

In January 2002, this ruling was overturned by 3 appeal judges who ruled that a cloned embryo was in fact covered by the 1990 Act and therapeutic cloning was therefore legal. The Pro-Life Alliance have successfully petitioned the House of Lords to review this decision.

Is there a law banning reproductive cloning?
Yes, the Human Reproductive Cloning Act was passed in December 2001. This makes it an offence to place a cloned human embryo in the womb of a woman. A ten year prison sentence awaits anyone trying this procedure.

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Denmark

Is it legal to use human embryos in medical research?
In Denmark, there are two cases where it is legal to use human embryos in medical research. That is, when the aim is to improve the techniques for artificial fertilisation, and the techniques for genetic investigation of the embryo. Any other experiments with embryos are not legal. That is stated in the national Danish law on artificial fertilisation (Lov om kunstig befrugtning) from 1997.

Is it legal to create an embryo purely for medical research?
No. In Denmark it is not allowed to create embryos purely for medical research. It is only allowed to carry out research on embryos that are created for artificial fertilisation, but are not used. This rule is not directly stated in the national Danish law on artificial fertilisation from 1997, but it is the interpretation by the Danish Parliament of this law.

Is it legal to use human embryos to produce stem cells?
It is not legal to use human embryos to produce stem cells. That is stated in the national Danish law on artificial fertilisation from 1997. But it is legal to import stem cells for research from other countries. That was stated by the Minister of Health in January 2002.

Is it legal to clone a human embryo for medical research (therapeutic cloning)?
It is not legal to clone a human embryo for medical research. That is stated in the national Danish law on artificial fertilisation from 1997. There are no laws on using theraputical cloning for treatment. A doctor in Denmark can do treatment with theraputic cloning, as long as he follows the rules on responsibility in the national Danish law on practising doctors' work (Lov om udøvelse af lægegerning) from 2001. The rules states that the doctor should be careful and conscientious in his work. However, therapeutic cloning is still not used for treatment.

Is there a law banning reproductive cloning?
Yes, the national Danish law about artificial fertilisation from 1997. The law bans doctors from treating women with reproductive cloning. Experiments with reproductive cloning are also banned.

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Finland

Is it legal to use human embryos in medical research?
Medical research is governed by the Medical Research Act (1999). According to this Act, embryos left over from fertilisation treatments can be used for research, providing that the donors have given written consent. Embryos must not be moved into a body and must be destroyed within 14 days of fertilisation. Eggs and sperm can be stored in liquid nitrogen for 15 years e.g. in cases in which an early adulthood disease leads to infertility. After 15 years, the eggs and sperm cannot be used in research and must be destroyed.

Is it legal to create an embryo purely for medical research?
In Finland, creating embryos for research purposes only is strictly prohibited.

Is it legal to use human embryos to produce stem cells?
Research that aims at altering hereditary qualities or features is prohibited, unless a serious disease can be cured or prevented as a result. Stem cell research is controlled by the ethical boards of hospital districts.

Is it legal to clone a human embryo for medical research (therapeutic cloning)?
Therapeutic cloning of fertilisation treatment left over embryos is legal, but the embryos must be destroyed within 14 days of fertilisation.

Is there a law banning reproductive cloning?
The Medical Research Act (1999) bans reproductive cloning.

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France

Is it legal to use human embryos in medical research?
No. In France, the Bioethics law of July 1994 generally prohibits experimentation on the human embryo. However, there is an exception to this rule: research is permitted if it is of use to the embryo and does not damage it, and if the parents have given their consent.

Since this law was passed, the situation has changed. France's highest medical authorities (the National Ethics Consultative Committee and the Academy of Medicine) and the Council of State have recommended that research on embryos in vitro should be allowed.

A new bill to amend the previous law was presented to the Council of Ministers on the 20th June 2001, then adopted after a first reading at the Assemblée Nationale (French Parliament) in January 2002. It could become law in 2003. This new legislation would allow parents to donate their surplus frozen embryos (not implanted in the uterus) for medical research. Experimentation will only go ahead if both parents have given written consent and if the research protocol has been specifically approved by the Ministries responsible for Research and Health.

Is it legal to create an embryo purely for medical research?
No. In France, the current law (passed on 29th July 1994) prohibits the production of embryos for research. In vitro fertilisation (IVF) can have only one purpose: to help a couple have a child. Surplus embryos are stored in a frozen state for five years for possible further implantation in the mother's uterus. The parents can also decide to give them to another couple or have them destroyed. After this five-year period, they must be destroyed. Today in France, there are around 100,000 surplus embryos with about 1,000 more produced each month.

The new law to be voted on in 2003 would also prohibit the conception of human embryos for research purposes (in other words, where there are no direct plans to have a child). Here, legislators agree with the reservations of biologist Jacques Testard (producer of the first French IVF baby): creating human beings in order to destroy them would be a genuine anthropological revolution.

Is it legal to use human embryos to produce stem cells?
No. At present in France, the removal of stem cells from embryos falls foul of the bioethics law of 1994 that prohibits research on embryos. However, there is a lacuna in the law since the importation of human embryo cells available on the international market (around sixty lines) is not forbidden.

The new bill scheduled for 2003 will probably legalise the production of stem cells for therapeutic ends, but only using surplus frozen embryos produced by IVF and donated by both parents for research.

Is it legal to clone a human embryo for medical research (therapeutic cloning)?
No. At present, the production of embryos by cloning (implantation of the somatic nucleus into an ovum) is forbidden in France. The bill that may be passed in 2003 will also forbid this technique, despite a recommendation from the National Ethics Consultative Committee. On 7th February 2001, this committee voted in favour of the legalisation of therapeutic cloning by 14 votes to 12. But the National Human Rights Consultative Committee (CNCDH), the Council of State and the President of the Republic, Jacques Chirac, have expressed their opposition. They fear that authorising therapeutic cloning would lead to the appearance of a commercial market for ova and also facilitate reproductive cloning.

Is there a law banning reproductive cloning?
The bill that may become law in 2003 is very tough on this point. It considers reproductive cloning (cloning with implantation in a woman's uterus) to be a criminal infringement of the integrity of the human race and a eugenist practice (article 21). Articles will be added to the French Civil and Penal Codes to prohibit this practice. Any biologists or medical teams producing a cloned and implanted embryo will face up to twenty years in prison.

In addition, France and Germany have made representations to the UNO with a view to introducing an international ban on reproductive cloning. This would make it a crime covered by a restrictive legal framework like the one that punishes torture.

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Germany

Is it legal to use human embryos in medical research?
Generally in Germany, the 'Embryonenschutzgesetz' ('Law protecting the embryo'), which came into force in January 1991, allows any diagnosis or analysis of an embryo only for its own benefit and with the aim of implanting this individual embryo into its mother's womb with the intention of pregnancy and birth. Using an embryo in medical research therefore is illegal in Germany.

Is it legal to create an embryo purely for medical research?
According to § 1 of the 'Embryonenschutzgesetz' ('Law protecting the embryo') from 1991, any person is subject to prosecution who artificially fertilises an egg cell for any purpose other than to bring about a pregnancy of the very same woman who donated the egg cell. Therefore, it is illegal to create an embryo purely for medical research.

Is it legal to use human embryos to produce stem cells?
The German 'Embryonenschutzgesetz' ('Law protecting the embryo') explicitly prohibits any use of any embryo except for its implantation into its mother's uterus with the intention of pregnancy and birth. Consequently, it is illegal to use an embryo to produce stem cells.

However, under certain, very strictly regulated circumstances the import of stem cells from other countries is possible for special research projects of high importance. These special stem cells must originate from stem cell lines created and established before 1st January 2002 and they can only be used in research projects with 'high-ranking research objectives'. Every single case has to be approved by a special ethics committee.

Is it legal to clone a human embryo for medical research (therapeutic cloning)?
According to the interpretation of most legal experts in Germany, the ban of cloning in § 6 of the 'Embryonenschutzgesetz' ('Law protecting the embryo') includes 'therapeutic cloning' as well as "reproductive cloning". In addition, since such a clone is an embryo in itself it is not only illegal to produce it but also to use it in medical research. This is because the 'Embryonenschutzgesetz' prohibits any examination of any embryo except for its benefit).

Is there a law banning reproductive cloning?
Yes, § 6 of the 'Embryonenschutzgesetz' ('Law protecting the embryo') prohibits the artificial creation or even the attempt at the creation of a human embryo with the same genetic information as another embryo, foetus, human being or a deceased person. Likewise, it is punishable to transfer or to try to transfer such an embryo into a woman's uterus.

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Italy

Is it legal to use human embryos in medical research?
In Italy, it is striclty forbidden to use human embryos for research.

Clinical and basic research are allowed only if alternative methodologies are not available. Furthermore, they must be aimed at improving therapy and diagnosis, and protecting health and development of the embryo itself.

Is it legal to create an embryo purely for medical research?
No, in Italy it is forbidden to produce human embryos for research or experimentation purposes.

Is it legal to use human embryos to produce stem cells?
In Italy, both the division and the dissectogenesis of human embryos are forbidden.

Furthermore, it doesn't matter if they are finalized to procreate or research: they are both severly condemned by the law.

Is it legal to clone a human embryo for medical research (therapeutic cloning)?
In Italy, it is forbidden to clone even for therapeutic purposes. However, the law will be valid until December 31st 2003.

Both manipulation and therapeutic cloning are punished according to the first paragraph of the law. This provides for imprisonment, ban from holding public offices and the professional roll.

Is there a law banning reproductive cloning?
Human cloning, even for reproduction purposes, is forbidden according to the article 582bis.

This article states that every person who obtains through any artificial method human embryos with the same genetic characteristics of another embryo, phetus, or human being, either dead or alive, is liable to punishment with imprisonment from 5 to 10 years, and ban from holding public offices and the professional roll.

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Portugal

Is it legal to use human embryos in medical research?
No. In Portugal, there was never a consensus on the status of the embryo. This has prevented all attempts to legislate medically assisted procreation (more than 10 draft bills have been proposed in the past 2 decades).

There is a very general Bill (Bill 135/VII (1997)) issued by the Council of Ministers prohibiting 'the creation or utilisation of embryos for the purposes of research or scientific experiment'. It accepts research however 'when this has the sole purpose of benefiting the embryo'.

Is it legal to create an embryo purely for medical research?
No. Bill 135/VII (1997) issued by the Council of Ministers prohibits 'the creation or utilisation of embryos for the purposes of research or scientific experiment'. It accepts research however 'when this has the sole purpose of benefiting the embryo'.

The European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity of the Human Being with regard to the Application of Biology and Medicine (also called the Oviedo Convention) came into force in Portugal in December 2001. Article 18 explicitly prohibits the 'creation of human embryos for research purposes'.

Is it legal to use human embryos to produce stem cells?
In Portugal, there is no legislation concerning stem cells. However, Article 18 of the Oviedo Convention - which has the force of law in Portugal - explicitly prohibits the 'creation of human embryos for research purposes'.

Is it legal to clone a human embryo for medical research (therapeutic cloning)?
In Portugal, there is no legislation on therapeutic cloning. However, Article 18 of the Oviedo Convention - which has the force of law in Portugal - explicitly prohibits the 'creation of human embryos for research purposes'.

The Portuguese scientific community however, agrees with this technological possibility and sees it as a hope for future medicine.

Is there a law banning reproductive cloning?
Yes. The Law on Assisted Procreation Techniques passed by the Parliament in July 1999 banned cloning and criminalised its use.

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Spain

Is it legal to use human embryos in medical research?
Spain has directly applicable legislation on assisted reproduction techniques (laws 35/1988 of November 22) and on the donation and use of human embryos and foetuses or their cells, tissue and organs (laws 42/1998 of December 28). Spain has also ratified the Council of Europe's Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine. Moreover, important sentences have been passed down by the Constitutional Court (STC 212/96 and STC 116/99).

This legislation authorises research using unviable embryos, so that the main problem regards the concept of viability. The discussion centres on whether surplus cryo-preserved embryos which have passed their legal date for use and have been discarded for any parental project, should be considered unviable or not, as their chances of developing in a liquid nitrogen tank are nil. The National Commission on Assisted Reproduction and the Observatory of Bioethics and Law, as well as many scientific groups, have all declared themselves in favour of this option.

Is it legal to create an embryo purely for medical research?
No. This is specifically prohibited in Article 18.2 of the Council of Europe's Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine, ratified by Spain and in force since 1 January 2000.

Is it legal to use human embryos to produce stem cells?
The law stipulates that specific authorisation is necessary for this. This authorisation should, in principle, be given by the National Commission on Assisted Reproduction or by an ad hoc commission. But opinions vary and the Conservative government is opposed to it.

Is it legal to clone a human embryo for medical research (therapeutic cloning)?
In principle, if therapeutic cloning is done using surplus embryos which have passed their legal date for implantation and with the authorisation of the genetic material donors, it should be legal. The problem is that certain religious groups who control the administration's decision making mechanisms, are opposed to this.

Is there a law banning reproductive cloning?
Yes, reproductive cloning has been prohibited since 1988 under the law on assisted reproduction. Reproductive cloning is considered a criminal act under the 1995 penal code and is banned by the additional protocol to the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine which forms part of Spanish domestic law.

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European Union

Is it legal to use human embryos in medical research?
There is no specific legislation at the EU level.

Is it legal to create an embryo purely for medical research?
There is no specific legislation at the EU level.

On the level of the Council of Europe, the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity of the Human Being with regard to the Application of Biology and Medicine (also called the Oviedo Convention, 1997) explicitly prohibits the 'creation of human embryos for research purposes' (article 18). However, the Convention only has force of law once ratified by national Parliaments, which did not happen in all EU countries.

Is it legal to use human embryos to produce stem cells?
There is no specific legislation at the EU level.

Is it legal to clone a human embryo for medical research (therapeutic cloning)?
There is no specific legislation at the EU level.

Is there a law banning reproductive cloning?
Yes. The first law banning reproductive cloning was the Resolution of the European Parliament (16 March 1989) that stated that criminal punishment was the only possible reaction to human cloning. This was followed by another Resolution (28 October 1993) that banned the cloning of human embryos. a further Resolution (11 March 1997) explicitly banned cloning and requested EU Member States to adopt measures to criminally punish all violations of the ban.

The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (2000) prohibits the reproductive cloning of human beings (article 3).

At a broader level, Article 1 of the Additional Protocol to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity of the Human Being with regard to the Application of Biology and Medicine (Oviedo Convention), bans cloning.

More international texts that forbid cloning are: the Resolution of the 50th World Health Assembly (14 May 1997) and Article 11 of the Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and the Rights of Man (11 November 1997).

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