United Nations cloning treaty on hold until after US election

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http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N22555127.htm

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 22 (Reuters) - The Bush administration on Friday urged quick U.N. action on a global treaty to ban all cloning of human embryos, including for medical research, but diplomats said the measure would go nowhere before the Nov. 2 U.S. elections.

With support for the U.S. stance faltering in the General Assembly's treaty-writing Legal Committee, Washington hopes to avoid an embarrassing loss just days before the election, the diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Even if they had the votes to win at the United Nations, the emotional issue divides U.S. voters and could harm President George W. Bush's re-election prospects, they said.

A proposal for a U.N. treaty banning human cloning has been bottled up in the United Nations since 2001, with the world body's 191 member-nations deeply divided on the issue.

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