Purpose of Law 1. The purpose of this Law is to prevent reproductive cloning in humans by establishing that certain kinds of genetic intervention shall not be performed on human beings in view of the moral, legal, social and scientific aspects of the prohibited forms of intervention and their implications for human dignity, and in order to assess public policy regarding those kinds of intervention in view of those aspects, considering also freedom of scientific research for the advancement of medicine.
Definitions 2. In this Law –
"Advisory committee” - the Supreme Helsinki Committee appointed under the Public Health (Medical Experiments on Humans) Regulations 5741-1980;
“Human cloning”- "human reproductive cloning" - any of the following:
“Reproductive cell” - human spermatozoon or ovum;
“The Minister” - the Minister of Health.
| Prohibited actions | 3. | Throughout the period during which this Law is in force, no person shall perform any of the following acts: | |
|---|---|---|---|
| (1) | Human cloning - human reproductive cloning; | ||
| (2) | Using reproductive cells that have undergone a permanent intentional genetic modification (Germ Line Gene Therapy) in order to cause the creation of a person. | ||
| Advisory committee | 4. | (a) The advisory committee | |
|---|---|---|---|
| - duties and powers | (1) Shall follow developments in medicine, biotechnology, bioethics and law in the field ofexperimentation on human beings in Israel and abroad; | science, genetic | |
| (2) Shall submit to the Minister and to the science and technology committee of the Knesset an annual report, on the exercise of its powers and duties according to this law and a summary of the developments referred to in paragraph (1); the report and summary shall be submitted annually, no later than March 1; | |||
| (3) Shall advise the Minister on the matter of genetic experimentation on human beings and shall provide him with its recommendations concerning the prohibitions set out in section 3. | |||
| (b) The Minister shall establish regulations concerning the exercise of the powers of the Advisory committee according to this law; such regulations shall also include powers of supervision and control. | |||
| Permission for certain types of genetic intervention | 5. | (a) | Notwithstanding the provisions of section 3, the Minister may, if he is of the opinion that human dignity will not be prejudiced, upon the recommendation of the advisory committee and upon such conditions as he may prescribe, permit through regulations the performance of specific kinds of genetic intervention that are prohibited under section 3(2). |
| (b) | The performance of a genetic intervention permitted under sub-section (a) shall be subject to advance receipt of a permit upon conditions that shall be prescribed. | ||
| (c) | The Minister shall prescribe in regulations under this section the conditions for the grant of a permit, the procedures for granting a permit, the methods of supervising and monitoring the performance of a permitted genetic intervention, and any related reporting duties. | ||
| Penalties | 6. | A person who commits any one of the following acts shall be liable to four years’ imprisonment or a fine equal to six times the fine set in paragraph 61(a)(4) of the Penal Law 5737-1977: | |
| (1) | Performing human cloning (Human Reproductive Cloning); | ||
| (2) | Using reproductive cells that have undergone a permanent intentional genetic modification (Germ Line Gene Therapy) in order to cause the creation of a person, unless acting lawfully pursuant to a permit granted under section 5. | ||
Preservation of 7. The provisions of this Law shall add to, and shall not derogate from, Laws the provisions of any law.
Validity 8. This Law shall remain in force until March 1st 2009.
Implementation 9. The Minister shall be responsible for the implementation of this Law.
Benjamin Netanyahu Yehoshua Matza Prime Minister Minister of Health Ezer Weitzman Dan Tichon President of the State Speaker of the Knesset