France's parliament gave final approval Friday to a bioethics law that approves stem cell research on human embryos, but only for a limited test period.
The legislation, designed to bring a 1994 bioethics law up to date, will allow stem cell research on embryos for five years. Researchers say the cells could create new treatments for Alzheimer's disease or traumatic injuries.
Among other measures, parliament also toughened the law against reproductive cloning to make it a "crime against the human race" punishable by 20 years in prison.
The vote followed 2 1/2 years of debate in parliament, with the right voting for the law and the left opposed. The Socialists said they would take their objections to the Constitutional Council, France's highest administrative body.
The legislation was introduced by the former Socialist-led government and scaled back after the conservatives took power in 2002.
For example, the left had intended to make it legal for a widow to be impregnated with an embryo conceived while her husband was still alive _ a measure that does not appear in the new law.
