Human cloning is the creation of a person that is genetically identical to another person alive or dead, by transferring to the female sex cell of a human somatic cell without a nucleus.

The legislation of the Russian Federation introduces a temporary ban on human cloning based on the principles of respect for the person, recognition of the value of the individual, the need to protect human rights and freedoms, taking into account the insufficiently studied biological and social consequences of cloning.

The ban was introduced before the day the federal law came into force, establishing the procedure for using the technology of cloning organisms for the purpose of human cloning.

Civil Code of the Russian Federation in paragraph 4 of Article 1349 indicates that methods for cloning a person and his clone, as well as methods for modifying the genetic integrity of human germline cells, cannot be subject to patent rights. The results of intellectual activity are also not patented, if they contradict the principles of humanity and morality.

Today in the world there is a process of criminalization of human cloning. In particular, such compositions are included in the new criminal codes of Spain in 1995, Colombia in 2000, Estonia in 2001, Moldova in 2002 and Romania in 2004.

In some countries, such as Brazil, Germany, UK and Japan, liability for cloning is established by special laws. For example, the Federal Law of Germany on the protection of embryos in 1990 calls the creation of an embryo genetically identical to another embryo originating from a living or dead person as a crime.

The UN Declaration on Human Cloning 2005 calls on member states to ban all forms of human cloning to the extent that they are incompatible with human dignity and the protection of human life. The UN also calls for the adoption of measures necessary to prohibit the use of genetic engineering methods that may be contrary to human dignity.

The UK law "On Reproductive Human Cloning" of 2001 prohibited the placement of a human embryo in a woman, which was not created by fertilization. The law provided for a criminal penalty of imprisonment for a term of up to 10 years and/or a fine.

The Law on Fertilization and Human Embryology, adopted in 2008, replaced the provision of the previous 2001 Act.

The 2008 law states: No one should place an embryo other than an approved embryo into a woman (a), or (b) any germ cells except allowed eggs and spermatozoa. By authorized is meant sperm and eggs, whose DNA has not been altered.

There are no federal laws governing human cloning in the United States, with the exception of laws and policies that restrict the federal government from funding human cloning research. However, many states have laws about human cloning.

States with cloning laws:

  • 7 states (Arizona, Arkansas, Michigan, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Virginia) prohibit both cloning for the production of children and cloning for biomedical research;
  • 10 states (California, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey and Rhode Island) impose a ban on cloning for the production of children, but at the same time allow cloning for biomedical research;
    Such laws state that any cloned human embryos must be frozen forever or destroyed (the so-called clone-and-kill laws).
  • 1 state (Minnesota) has a law that prohibits cloning for biomedical research without affecting the problem of cloning for the production of children.