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The Dutch government on Friday announced it wants to allow growing human embryos “under strict and limited conditions” for scientific research, thereby giving hope to parents struggling to conceive.
The Netherlands will change its laws on embryonic research, which until now only allowed tests to be conducted on leftover embryos procured from in vitro fertilisation processes. The so-called “14-day rule” — which says that human embryos cannot be cultured in the lab for more than two weeks — will also still strictly be adhered to, the statement said.
“Until now the ban on the cultivation of embryos have hampered research which could help with the treatment of diseases on the short to medium-long term,” it added.
US-based scientists earlier this month reported they had grown human embryos in the lab for nearly two weeks, for the first time challenging the 14-day rule simply because no one had succeeded in keeping the embryos alive for that long. The scientists then destroyed the embryos in order to avoid breaching the two-week limit.
Read full, original post: Netherlands wants to grow human embryos for ‘limited’ research
