Spain to allow therapeutic cloning

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain plans to introduce legislation allowing therapeutic cloning, its Health Minister said on Monday, a decision likely to bring a new clash between the governing Socialists and the Roman Catholic church.

In an interview in newspaper El Mundo, Elena Salgado said the legislation could be effective by next year.

"The Church has always been opposed to the advances of science, but fortunately science has continued progressing. And thanks to that we live in better conditions," she said.

Therapeutic cloning involves creating embryos as a source of stem cells to cure diseases. The process is controversial because the embryos are later discarded.

Governments of countries including Britain, Belgium, Singapore and China say the technique offers hope for a cure to conditions such as diabetes, Alzheimer's and spinal cord injuries.

But the Vatican, the Bush administration in the United States and anti-abortion groups argue that it constitutes the taking of human lives.

Salgado said strict limits would be placed on how the cloning technology is used in Spain.

"When we talk about therapeutic cloning, what is clear is that...