Source: The Daily Pioneer
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, March 11, 2001: Secret human cloning experiments that were conducted in Australia in 1999 implanting a cell containing human DNA into an empty pig’s egg, have drawn protests from a prominent church group. Cloning a human being is illegal in Australia and carries a maximum penalty of two years’ imprisonment. The resulting cloned embryo survived for 32 days before it was terminated. The report comes just days after a group of American and Italian scientists said that they plan to produce the world’s first cloned baby by the end of the year, possibly in Israel. The Telegraph quoted bioethicist Nick Tonti-Filippini as saying the baby-cloning project was one step further than the Australian experiment. “It has never been publicly admitted that we have already done human cloning in Australia,” Tonti-Filippini said.