The National Council of Ethics for the Sciences of Life in Portugal has published a document in which it affirms “human cloning for reproductive purposes should be prohibited because it violates human dignity”. The Council differentiates “reproductive purpose” from “bio-medical research”, explaining that “specific ethical problems exist”. It continues: “The practice of cloning for purposes of bio-medical research could be recommended according to the principles of utility and solidarity, given the potential therapeutic benefits for human beings”. But, “in the current situation of absence of unanimity or lack of any wide-ranging scientific and philosophic convergence”, suggests the National Council, it is better to “apply the ethical principle of precaution”.
