[tri-med] FYI - Cloning

The following press release was posted on Senator Sam Brownback's home page
this afternoon.  A Reuter's story on the bill's introduction also follows.
Note that Brownback will chair a Senate Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on
Science and Technology hearing on Wednesday, May 2, at 2:30 p.m., in 253
Russell, on the issue of cloning.

Tony Mazzaschi
AAMC

United States Senator  Sam Brownback
BROWNBACK-WELDON BILL WOULD BAN HUMAN CLONING
Thursday, April 26, 2001

WASHINGTON U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) and U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon (R-FL)
today introduced the Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2001, a bill to ban
human cloning at a Capitol Hill news conference. "The Brownback-Weldon bill,
which we are introducing today, would ban the technique known as human
somatic cell nuclear transfer. Our bill prohibits human cloning. "We are
introducing this legislation in part because some individuals have announced
that they will attempt to create human beings by cloning using the same
technique used to create Dolly the Sheep. But there is a deep concern in
America, and the world in general, with the use of this technology for the
purposes of creating humans. "In fact, according to a recent Time/CNN poll,
90 percent of Americans said it is a bad idea to clone human beings. "We
believe, and many Americans share this belief, that efforts to create human
beings by cloning mark a new and decisive step toward turning human
reproduction into a manufactu!
ring process in which children are made in laboratories to preordained
specifications. "Creating cloned live-born children begins by creating
cloned human embryos, a process which some also propose as a way to create
embryos for research or as sources of cells and tissues for possible
treatment of other humans. "The prospect of creating new human life solely
to be exploited and destroyed in this way has been condemned on moral
grounds by many as displaying a profound disrespect for life, and recent
scientific advances indicate that there are fruitful and morally
unproblematic alternatives to this approach. "There is no need for this
technology to ever be used with humans  whether for reproductive purposes or
for destructive research purposes. Our bill makes this clear, and imposes
civil and criminal penalties on anyone who attempts to create a human clone
through the process of human somatic cell nuclear transfer," Brownback said.
This legislation is being strongly supported!
 by the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society, the Nati
Catholic Bishops as well as other groups. Sen. Brownback will chair a Senate
Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Science and Technology hearing on
Wednesday, May 2, at 2:30 p.m., in 253 Russell, on the issue of cloning.


Thursday April 26 4:23 PM ET
Human Cloning Ban Introduced in Congress

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bill that would ban human cloning was introduced in
both houses of Congress on Thursday to prevent what one lawmaker called ``a
manufacturing process in which children are made in laboratories.''

The bill was introduced by Republicans Sen. Sam Brownback of Oklahoma and
Rep. Dave Weldon of Florida, and was in line with previous congressional
promises to ban human cloning.

Brownback said at a news conference that Americans were concerned about
plans by some groups to clone human beings using the same techniques that
produced the sheep clone Dolly.

``We believe, and many Americans share this belief, that efforts to create
human beings by cloning mark a new and decisive step toward turning human
reproduction into a manufacturing process in which children are made in
laboratories to preordained specifications,'' Brownback said.

``I think this process displays a profound disrespect for human life and it
needs to be made illegal in the United States of America,'' Weldon said in a
statement on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.

The White House has said President Bush (news - web sites) opposes human
cloning and is willing to work with Congress on legislation to prevent it.

Brownback will chair a Senate hearing on cloning on May 2.


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