CLONED BABIES

Column: 475

CLONED BABIES

12.

Mdm Cynthia Phua asked the Minister for Health (a) what is the law governing Singaporeans who cloned their babies abroad and bring them into Singapore; and (b) how will the Government know whether a child is cloned.

Mr Khaw Boon Wan: I will be reading the Human Cloning and Other Prohibited Practices Bill for the second time today. If approved by this House, it will prohibit all human reproductive cloning activities in Singapore.

Outside of Singapore, any Singaporean who participates in such activities will be subject to the prevailing laws in those countries. The fact is that most countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Israel, Japan and the UK, have passed legislation banning human reproductive cloning.

Theoretically, it may be possible to determine whether a baby has been cloned by subjecting it to DNA testing. One would need to demonstrate that the DNA profile of the baby in question is identical to the person who allegedly provided the genetic material to create the clone. However, in practice where the cloning took place overseas and made use of genetic material from an overseas source, it may not be possible to gather sufficient evidence to prove the case.

That said, so far no one in the world has produced any evidence that he has successfully cloned a human baby. None of the reports on so-called human cloning have actually been verified by reputable authorities or supported by scientific data. I would like to advise Singaporeans not to be deceived by such claims in the media.