PUBLIC STATEMENTS

Advanced Cell Technology's Cloned Human Embryo Is a Retreat for Human Dignity

WASHINGTON, DC --- "Our U.S. Marines have not been sent to Afghanistan to fight for the right to clone human embryos," said Steven W. Mosher, president of Population Research Institute (PRI), following Advanced Cell Technology's announcement that it has cloned a human embryo.

"Reproductive and therapeutic cloning are ultimate human rights abuses, which undercut human dignity at the most fundamental level."

Mosher sharply criticized ACT spokespersons for claiming to be opposed to cloning which would result in a born human being, yet at the same time praising the alleged scientific benefits of cloning embryos whose cells would be mined for research purposes.

"An overwhelming majority of Americans oppose all forms of human cloning," Mosher said, "and Americans, in vast majority, oppose the creation of human embryos for the sake of their destruction either by IVF or by cloning techniques. ACT has brought us one step closer towards the horrors of a Brave New World. The U.S. Senate must act quickly to legislate an all out ban against cloning."

PRI is dedicated to ending human rights abuses committed in the name of family planning.