Supposed legal barriers against human cloning in the US would not hold up in court, say American legal experts.
The US Food and Drug Administration has sent letters to groups that have announced that they intend to clone humans, stating the procedure is 鈥渟ubject to FDA legislation鈥ou should be aware that failure to comply with FDA regulatory requirements may lead to enforcement action鈥�.
But some legal analysts say the food and drug laws could not stop scientists from trying to clone a human.
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The FDA has the power to regulate 鈥渂iological products鈥� used to treat medical conditions. Kathryn Zoon, director of the FDA鈥檚 Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, says a cloned human embryo would be a biological product, used to treat infertility.
The FDA also claims that cloned human embryos are 鈥渄rugs鈥�, and so subject to its regulation. According to the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, drugs are 鈥渁rticles (other than food) intended to affect the structure or any function of the body.鈥�
A cloned human embryo is an 鈥渁rticle鈥� that makes a woman pregnant, and so affects the structure of a woman鈥檚 body, says the FDA.
But George Annas, law professor at Boston University, told the Washington Post: 鈥淐ongress is not going to buy than an embryo is an article or a drug鈥� Does the FDA have jurisdiction? The answer is, no.鈥�
Attempts to introduce dedicated legislation to ban human cloning outright in the US could also fail, say legal analysts. This is because it would contravene a constitutional right to procreate.