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July 11, 2002 WASHINGTON - The President's Council on Bioethics reported today
that most of its members support at least a temporary ban on cloning human
embryos for biomedical research. By banning all cloning for a time,* say the
Council members, our nation could provide an opportunity for further debate on a
permanent policy and explore morally sound alternatives to the creation and
destruction of human embryos in the pursuit of medical progress. Such agreement
is a significant achievement for an advisory body representing such diverse
viewpoints.
The Council states that human cloning, performed for any purpose, is the
creation of a human embryo -- so a ban on cloning will ban use of cloning to
create embryos. The majority report does not support the kind of proposal
offered by Senator Feinstein and others * a proposal to allow creating human
embryos by cloning but prohibit their later survival. That morally unacceptable
approach, rejected by President Bush and the House of Representatives, is not
endorsed by the Bioethics Council either.
However, the Council also said today that it favors some kind of permanent ban
on *cloning to produce children,* and this raises many questions. In the five
years since *Dolly* the sheep was born, no one has succeeded in crafting a
feasible, enforceable and morally sound ban that covers only *cloning to produce
children* but does not give government endorsement to the destruction of cloned
embryos. No bill in Congress offers such a ban, most likely because it cannot be
done.
Fortunately this conundrum need not prevent Congress from meeting its immediate
obligation. A four-year moratorium on all human cloning will offer ample time to
discuss all viewpoints on a permanent policy. Without further delay, the U.S.
Senate should join President Bush, the House of Representatives, and the
President*s Council on Bioethics in supporting at least a temporary ban on all
human cloning. Otherwise the most irresponsible of researchers will create our
national policy on cloning by default.
For further comment by Mr. Doerflinger: 202-541-3171 (office) or 202-494-5879
(cell).
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