London (CNSNews.com) - Two research groups have been granted Britain's first licenses to perform stem cell experiments on human embryos, the country's fertility regulator announced Friday.

A report approving stem cell and cloning research on embryos released by a governmental committee earlier this week cleared the way for the licenses to be issued by the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority (HFEA).

The first two research teams to take advantage of the new rules were a group at Edinburgh University's Center for Genome Research searching for a cure for Parkinson's disease and researchers at the London-based Guy's Hospital who are investigating infertility and miscarriages.

The experiments do not including cloning, but the researchers will produce stem cell lines from embryos "left over" from in-vitro fertilization treatments.

An HFEA spokesman said its licensing committee gave "careful consideration to the scientific, medical and ethical issues of the (research) applications."

Under the licenses, researchers will be restricted in the type of experiments they are able to perform on embryos. The HFEA said it would consider embryo research applications and appeals for permission to carry out cloning on a case-by-case basis.

Call for rebuke

Pro-life groups argue that using embryos for research is unethical and that similar cures could be found using stem cells taken from adults. Britain's main pro-life groups attacked the government report after its release Wednesday, calling the panel biased in favor of cloning researchers.

The pro-life charity called Life has called for the leader of the government committee, Anglican bishop Richard Harries, to be censured.

Life chairman Jack Scarisbrick said the report reflected the "relentless dechristianization" of British society.

"It is scandalous that a Christian bishop led the way," he said. "Cloning ... involves the manufacture of a new kind of human being. Anyone who revered human life and its creator would tremble before taking such a step - and refuse it.

"The bishop has given approval to yet more destruction, manipulation and trivialization of human life. The Archbishop of Canterbury, as leader of the Church of England, should publicly rebuke him and reaffirm his Church's commitment to upholding the utmost respect for human life," Scarisbrick said.