Oct 7, 2004 / 22:00 pm
Several pro-life groups that monitor UN activities are alerting Latin Americans to urge their governments to support an international convention proposed by Costa Rica that would prohibit all forms of human cloning.
Between October 21 and 22, the UN will debate the Costa Rican proposal, which currently has the support of the United States, Italy and other countries.
The only Latin American nations that have signed on as cosponsors of the proposal are Chile, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay and the Dominican Republic. Pro-life groups are asking citizens whose countries are on the list to express their thanks and support to their governments. But "if your country is not on the list of cosponsors, try to get it to support and above all to vote in favor of this resolution."
The international convention proposed by Costa Rica recognizes "the rapid evolution of biological science and the ethical questions that some of its applications raise with respect to the dignity of the human race, human rights and the fundamental rights of the person."
It also argues that "human cloning, for whatever purpose, is unethical, morally reprehensible and incompatible with the respect due the human person and cannot be justified or accepted."