The Warnock Committee on Human Fertilization and Embryology (1984) recommended that AID should be available on a properly organized basis and subject to licensing arrangements.

In the UK, assisted reproductive technologies are regulated under the Human Fertilization and Embryology Act (HFE) of 2008.

The Human Fertilization and Embryology Act 1990 regulates ex-vivo human embryo creation and the research involving them.

The action is ordered under the Human Fertilization and Embryology Act, which became effective on Aug. 1, 1991, and stipulated the five-year time limit.

In early August, the British government put Newcastle on the map of controversial world laboratories when the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority, which oversees reproductive technology here, issued a license allowing scientists to pursue human cloning experiments.

"This is an important area of research and a responsible use of technology," said Suzi Leather, chairwoman of the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority, the British agency that issued the license.

In Britain, however, the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority has reported that some 50,000 babies have been born through in vitro fertilization since 1991, and 294,584 surplus human embryos have been destroyed.

Current debate surrounding the Human Fertilization and Embryology Bill provides evidence of widespread public concern over these matters, although the social and cultural implications of such developments have so far been little explored.

In March 2004, Canadian parliament enacted the Assisted Human Reproduction Act (AHRA), modeled on the United Kingdom's Human Fertilization and Embryology Act of 1990.

Suzi Leather, chairwoman of the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority, which regulates in-vitro fertilization treatment in Britain, said that Dame Elizabeth had made a wise ruling in a "unique and clearly unfortunate case."