Following the January 2001 announcement by Severino Antinori, Panos Zavos and others of plans to begin cloning human beings, world leaders reacted by calling for global bans.

February 2 - Japan Issues Warning To Scientists On Human Cloning Project. (AP)-Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori instructed his science minister to take steps to prevent Japanese researchers and doctors from participating in an international project to clone human beings.

February 4 - Australian Scientist Horrified at Human Clone Plan. Two international medical scientists tried to lure Victoria's top reproductive scientist, Alan Trounson, into a taboo-busting project aimed at cloning the first human being. Trounson's reply: "I'm sure they would like anybody who would add credibility to the team to go on it. No way. No way!"
http://www.theage.com.au/news/2001/02/04/FFXPQ246QIC.html

February 8 - Romania Bans Human Cloning. (Monitorul Online) Deputies decided to forbid human cloning in Romania, by passing a draft bill which ratified the European Convention concerning the protection of the human rights and that of the human being's dignity.

February 10 - French President Calls for Ban on Human Cloning. French President Jacques Chirac criticized Britain's decision last month to let scientists clone human embryos for medical research, and called for an international ban on the practice. Research cloning, Chirac said, "leads to the creation of embryos for the purposes of research and the production of cells and, in spite of the ban, makes reproductive cloning practically possible…"
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2001/2/10/103138.shtml

February 21 - Takashi Sasagawa, minister in charge of Japan's science and technology policy, said that Japan should revise its law banning human cloning to prohibit Japanese from cloning humans abroad.

March 1 - Council of Europe Ban on Human Cloning Takes Effect. The Council of Europe's protocol against human cloning, the first binding international ban, took effect on March 1 when a fifth nation ratified it. Twenty-four of the 41 Council of Europe states have signed the protocol.

March 8 - Human Cloning Illegal in China. The Xinhua News Agency reported that a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee stated that human cloning is not allowed in China.

March 10 - Prominent Italians Against Human Cloning. (AP) - A day after researchers meeting in Rome vowed to clone babies, an Italian lawmaker condemned them as ''Frankenstein doctors'' and urged parliament to ratify an international pact banning human cloning. A prominent cardinal also condemned the project, as did the head of Italy's national committee on bioethics.

March 12 - British, Australian, and Italian Medical Authorities Condemn Human Cloning. Antinori and Zavos were condemned by Britain's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority and by the Australian Medical Association. The Italian medical association warned that any member who tries to clone a human risks expulsion and loss of the right to practice medicine.

March 13 - The Cypriot government said it would not permit human cloning after Antinori identified Cyprus as a possible locale for his project.

March 13 - Kenyans Join Condemnation of Human Cloning. Archbishop Ndingi Mwana A'Nzeki of Nairobi, the vice chancellor of Kenyatta University, and Muslim leaders also joined criticism of human cloning.

March 13 - German and Filipino Bishops Oppose Human Cloning. Roman Catholic bishops in both Germany and the Philippines have condemned all forms of human cloning, either for reproductive or so-called therapeutic purposes.
http://www.zenit.org/english/archive/0103/ZE010311.htm#3389

March 30 - Prominent Scientists Oppose Cloning. Rudolph Jaenisch and Ian Wilmut, head of the team that created the first mammal cloned from an adult, opposed human cloning in a letter to Science magazine.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/291/5513/2552 (requires registration)

April 12 - Schroeder Speaks Against Human Genetic Modification. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder recently said, "We agree on what we do not want: the cloned, optimized, genetically selected human being." (New York Times, "Horror Expressed in Germany Over Dutch Euthanasia")

April 19 - Britain to Ban Human Cloning. The government announced that it would introduce a legislative ban on human cloning, which was already disallowed under the British regulatory framework.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_1285000/1285151.stm

May 3 - Canada Introduces Legislation on Genetic and Reproductive Technologies. The Canadian Health Minister submitted to the House of Commons legislation that would ban human cloning; germline modification; and commercialization of human eggs, sperm, embryos or surrogacy arrangements. The proposed legislation would also set up a regulatory framework to control other uses of reproductive technology.

November 30 - Lagos, Nigeria, University VC Calls for Measures Against Human Cloning University of Port Harcourt vice-chancellor, Prof. Nimi Briggs, has called for urgent measures to regulate research on human cloning.

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