Weldon, Stupak Reintroduce
Cloning Ban
January 10, 2003 - Reps. Dave Weldon (R-Fla.) and
Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) Jan 8 reintroduced legislation to ban
all forms of human cloning, including therapeutic cloning.
The bill (H.R.
234) is similar, with one exception, to legislation (H.R.
2505) that was passed by the House in 2001 but stalled
in the Senate. The new bill no longer includes a provision
that outlaws the importation of the products of therapeutic
cloning technology from abroad. However, it would still be
illegal to import an entire cloned embryo. The bill has 88
cosponsors.
At a press conference, Rep. Weldon stated the bill has been
referred to the House Energy and Commerce and Judiciary committees,
and that Judiciary Chair James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) does
not plan on holding hearings since the bill passed in the
last Congress. Rep. Weldon predicted the bill will be marked
up in full committee in mid-February and will be considered
on the House floor in late February or early March.
A press release from Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), the
lead Senate sponsor of the complete cloning ban, praised the
Weldon-Stupak bill and indicated that he would reintroduce
his companion bill in the Senate "shortly." It is believed
that supporters of somatic cell nuclear transfer research,
including Senators Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.),
Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), are posed to
shortly reintroduce their bill that would criminalize reproductive
cloning but ensure that therapeutic cloning research could
proceed unhampered.
Information:
Dave Moore, Senior Associate Vice President
AAMC Government Relations
dbmoore@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
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