The chairman of Germany's National Ethics Council is denying reports that the council is about to give the green light to therapeutic cloning using human embryos in that country. But chairman Spiros Simitis said that Parliament would have to reassess its ban following the UK's decision to allow therapeutic cloning.

Under Germany's Embryo Protection Law, the production of human embryonic stem cells is forbidden, but some research on imported cell cultures already developed from stem cells in other countries is permitted.

"The German Parliament will need to deal with this question of therapeutic cloning again very soon," Simitis told The Scientist. "The UK decision to allow cloning human embryos for research underscores the different opinions within Europe. It also forces all other members to review their positions."

"The ethics council is in the middle of the debate, and we hope to have an opinion by September, but it is still not clear what the outcome will be," Simitis said. "There are very different positions within the council, but if the vote is in favor, then it will only be to allow therapeutic cloning under very restrictive conditions."

The Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported that the majority of the 25 members in the council are now in favor of lifting the ban on using human embryos as a source of embryonic stem cells for research. The newspaper said that a draft report by the council's cloning working group, which is led by molecular biologist Jens Reich, has recommended "cloning for research purposes," provided that a clear regulatory framework is in place.

Simitis said, however, that many members of the council were still not persuaded that human embryonic stem cell research really would help find treatments for conditions such as Alzheimer and Parkinson diseases.

Heidemarie Neitzel, who heads the Department of Cytogenetics at the Institute of Human Genetics at the Charite University Hospital in Berlin, agreed. "I am not opposed to research on human embryonic clones in principle," Neitzel told The Scientist. "But there is still no evidence that such research will lead to breakthroughs in treatments for diseases such as Alzheimer's. I think it is up to scientists to show that such research really will work before they ask for permission to go ahead with it."

"There were a lot of promises when gene therapy started, but in practice its therapeutic value has proved to be quite limited," Neitzel said.

Neitzel said that Germany's perspective on human cloning and genetics had been complicated by the country's past. "Clearly, the Nazi experiments in eugenics creates difficulties for Germany when it comes to dealing with these issues. Sometimes I think we are too cautious, for example, when it comes to banning pre-implantation diagnostic screening."

The council—which advises the German government on issues related to the ethics of the life sciences—is to present its final report on therapeutic cloning early in September before the United Nations launches its debate on whether to ban human cloning on September 14.

The debate on therapeutic cloning comes at a time when the council—founded in 2001 by the German government—is still in the process of defining its remit. Some members argue that the council should produce a clear recommendation about therapeutic cloning for Parliament based on a majority vote. But others say that the council should restrict itself to presenting a detailed account of the whole spectrum of opinions on the ethical issues raised by therapeutic cloning and leave Parliament to make the final decision.