human embryo research and cloning ban

4.2.4 Human Embryo Research and Cloning Ban

NIH funds may not be used for (1) the creation of a human embryo or embryos for research purposes; or (2) for research in which a human embryo or embryos are destroyed, discarded, or knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death greater than that allowed for research on fetuses in utero under 45 CFR Part 46.204(b) and subsection 498(b) of the PHS Act (42 U.S.C. 289g(b)). The term "human embryo or embryos" includes any organism not protected as a human subject under 45 CFR Part 46, as of the date of enactment of the governing appropriations act, that is derived by fertilization, parthenogenesis, cloning, or any other means from one or more human gametes or human diploid cells. Furthermore, per the NIH Director's Statement of April 28, 2015, NIH will not fund any use of gene-editing technologies in human embryos.

In addition to the statutory restrictions on human fetal research under subsection 498((b) of the PHS Act, by Presidential memorandum of March 4, 1997, NIH is prohibited from using Federal funds for cloning of human beings.