Congressmen push for anti-cloning action

WASHINGTON, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- Raising the specter of imminent attempts at human reproductive cloning, a bipartisan group of House members Wednesday urged the Senate to act on an anti-cloning bill.

The group was led by Reps. Dave Weldon, R-Fla., and Bart Stupak, D-Mich., who co-sponsored the cloning ban measure in the House, where it passed July 31. Their action was prompted by the report that Advanced Cell Technologies of Worcester, Mass., had succeeded in starting the process of cloning a human embryo.

"Scientists have moved forward and done what a large majority of the House has deemed should be a criminal activity," Weldon said. "The science in support of this procedure ... is unfounded, the experimentation (ACT) wishes to promote is unethical, and I believe this research is unnecessary."

The group insisted the Senate leadership take up the measure immediately, joining calls from Sens. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., and Bill Frist, R-Tenn., to act on the bill before recessing for the holidays. Senate Majority Leader Tom Dashcle, D-S.D., has said other matters on the legislative calendar must take precedence.

ACT's announcement described cloned embryos that stopped developing almost immediately, implying a lot of work would be needed before a viable embryo could be produced. Despite this, Weldon said immediate Senate action is vital.

ACT has listed its procedures on the Internet, Weldon said, and unscrupulous companies could attempt to use the knowledge for reproductive purposes before the Senate returns in February. ACT has said its research is aimed at therapeutic cloning to cure disease and provide replacement tissue and other body parts.

The bill being discussed, H.R. 2505, would ban all attempts at cloning human beings, defining the procedure broadly enough to cover all cloning procedures currently being considered. The bill's penalties would include up to 10 years in prison and fines of at least $1 million if any financial gain was involved.

Weldon said the bill would not affect cloning research on DNA, plants or animals. The measure also calls for a General Accounting Office study of cloning issues, including possible uses for medical research, within four years after the bill becomes law.

Rep. Dennis Kasinich, D-Ohio, said the idea of cloning clashes with the basic principles enunciated in the Declaration of Independence.

"The creator that our founders referred to was not ACT," Kasinich said. "(Cloning) undermines essentially what it means to be human, it undermines the legal status of individuals, and it challenges the very spiritual core of our existence."

Several representatives, including Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., and Vern Ehlers, R-Mich., pointed out other medical research, including work with adult stem cells, has progressed much farther than cloning. These avenues must be examined completely before cloning can even be contemplated, Ehlers said.