Jeff Johnson, CNSNews.com
Thursday, Jan. 9, 2003

Claims in late December 2002 by biotechnology company Clonaid to have successfully created the first clone of a human being motivated Rep. Dave Weldon, R-Fla., and Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., to reintroduce the legislation.

"Adult stem cells have been used for 20 years to treat a multitude of different diseases. Every month, a new method is shown that can use adult stem cells to treat a new disease," said Weldon, a practicing physician. "Cloning, in my opinion, is unethical and unnecessary."

One fear opponents of cloning have is that researchers may use the technology to develop "designer babies," allowing parents to pick the sex, hair and eye color, or other physical attributes of their children.

But Tim Caulfield, research director at the Health Law Institute at the University of Alberta, believes lawmakers could address that concern with a ban only on "reproductive cloning" while allowing so-called "therapeutic cloning."

"Blanket bans on technology are almost always a mistake," Caulfield told Time magazine earlier this month. "You don't ban fertilizer because you can use it to make bombs."

Cloning supporters claim they may someday be able to treat diseases using such "therapeutic cloning," the theoretical process of creating a human embryo from the cells of a person with a disease and then using healthy cells from the cloned human being to treat the illness.

But Weldon points out that the research necessary to even consider such experiments on human beings has not been completed.

"You cannot take an animal, a mouse or a rat with a disease, make a clone of that mouse or rat, and then successfully treat that animal for that condition," he explained. "Therapeutic cloning has never been done ... therapeutic cloning does not exist."

Stupak said, if pro-cloning scientists are willing to follow the established methodology for biomedical research, he will be more receptive to their claims.

"Prove it on animals first, then let's talk about humans," he said. "That's the way our research is done now."

The Weldon and Stupak proposal bans human cloning, but does not prohibit experiments with non-human animal embryo research. The legislation would mandate that the General Accounting Office report any progress made in animal cloning to Congress after the law had been in force for four years.

"If they can actually demonstrate an animal model that effectively works and, more importantly, is more effective than adult stem cells, then the GAO is required to report that information back to us so that we can revisit the statute," Weldon stressed. "But I, personally, do not believe that they will ever be able to demonstrate that this is effective."

Caulfield still insists that a total ban on human cloning is the wrong approach.

"Don't ban cloning because it may be abused," he said. "What we should do is regulate the activities that may be abused, like human reproductive cloning."

'Unenforceable'

But Weldon said such a ban is "unenforceable."

"If we have dozens of labs throughout the United States producing human embryos in large quantities, it would essentially be impossible to police the process," he explained, "because the implantation of a human embryo occurs within the privacy of the doctor-patient relationship."

Congressional testimony presented by Assistant Attorney General Daniel Bryant last year supports Weldon's contention.

"Enforcing a [reproductive cloning] ban would be problematic and pose certain law enforcement challenges," Bryant told a House Government Reform Subcommittee on May 15, 2002.

"Entrusted with enforcing such a limited ban, law enforcement would be placed in the unenviable position of having to impose new and unprecedented scrutiny over doctors in fertility clinics and/or research facilities," he said.

Stupak believes scientists who want to explore human cloning just want to "experiment on human embryos to see what they may be able to create."

"The question is simply this: Because we can do something, does that mean we should? Which is the better path to take," he asked, "one in which we mass produce cloned embryos in the lab - a path that will lead to producing cloned babies?

"Or is the better path, as in our bill, one urging caution, stepping forward based upon sound science, guided by ethical, moral and legal principles?" Stupak continued. "The manufacture of human beings at any level, even the embryonic level, is wrong."

The bill currently has more than 80 cosponsors, at least 20 Democrats and 60 Republicans.

An almost identical measure passed the House last year with 263 supporters. The measure was blocked from consideration by the Senate's Democratic leadership over fears that the legislation would somehow be used as a precursor for attempts to ban abortion.

Weldon expects the legislation to be voted on in February or March. He hopes the Senate will consider similar legislation with equal rapidity. President Bush has stated his support for and intention to sign such legislation if passed by Congress.

Copyright CNSNews.com

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