The United Nations will vote later this week on a measure that would ban all forms of human cloning in the future if passed.
Along with some other 60 nations, the United States and Costa Rica are supporting the measure. Meanwhile, Great Britain, Belgium and other European nations are in opposition.
However, many U.N. diplomats said it is possible that they would postpone to vote for the measure another year, fearing such a controversial issues might lead to other complications.
"This has become such an emotional issue that I hope to avoid a vote this year," Moroccan U.N. Ambassador Mohamed Bennouna told Reuters.
In late 2003, Costa Rica proposed to pass a complete cloning ban. The United Nations voted in December to delay the decision for a year. This year, along side with Costa Rica, the U.S will vote in favor of a total ban treaty.
In a speech delivered on Sept. 21, President Bush urged the United Nations to support his position on human cloning.
"In this session, the U.N. will consider a resolution sponsored by Costa Rica calling for a comprehensive ban on human cloning. I support that resolution and urge all governments to affirm a basic ethical principle: No human life should ever be produced or destroyed for the benefit of another," he said.
Meanwhile, the International Society for Stem Cell Research sent a letter on Monday to the General Assembly asking members not to adopt a measure that would bring an end to all forms of human cloning.
Currently, the United States has no federal cloning law, but New Jersey and California have regulations permitting therapeutic cloning and prohibiting reproductive cloning.
Some countries that allow cloning are Singapore, China and South Korea.
