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Congressman Dave Weldon
April 30, 2002
WASHINGTON, DC - After hinting at it for several months, Senator Orin Hatch,
(R-Utah) released a statement earlier today expressing his support for so called
therapeutic cloning-the creation of cloned human embryos for the sole purpose of
experimental scientific research.
Upon hearing the report, Representative Dave Weldon, M.D., a former Army Medical
Corps physician with a background of experience in molecular genetics research
and current medical internist who authored the human cloning ban, issued the
following statement in response to Senator Hatch's disappointing decision.
"I read the Senator's statement of support for so called therapeutic cloning and
I must say it is fraught with bad science and bad information. The skewed logic
which says: it's not really a person or human embryo because it's just an
unfertilized egg, but, just in case, we'll ban the implantation-strikes me as a
very odd construct.
"Additionally, despite the Senator's assurances, 'therapeutic cloning' is most
surely an open door invitation to reproductive cloning. Does anyone actually
believe that when (not if) a cloned embryo is removed from the laboratories and
is implanted into a woman's womb, that supporters of therapeutic cloning will
invoke the implantation ban of their bill? How would they enforce it? Would the
woman be forced to abort the "illegal product?" Such a law makes it a crime not
to destroy a human embryo. That's morally and ethically absurd.
"This point alone should be enough to compel the Senate to pass a complete human
cloning ban. Once human cloned embryos are mass-produced in the lab for
experimental research purposes, the eugenics revolution will have begun. The
most effective way to stop this is to ban the procedure from the start, which
the House agreed to with more than a 100-vote majority. The President
understands that those who support research on excess embryos, should be
consistent and oppose the special creation of cloned embryos for research,
called 'therapeutic cloning,'" said Congressman Weldon.
"When Senator Hatch testified before the Government Reform Subcommittee on
Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources on July 17, 2001 he said, 'I
would like to comment on the work of the Jones Institute for Reproductive
Medicine in Norfolk, Virginia, which is creating embryos in order to conduct
stem cell research. I find the work of this clinic extremely disturbing.'"
"Why the Senator finds last year's bio-debate about creating embryos in order to
conduct stem cell research "extremely disturbing" but characterizes his decision
today to allow creating cloned embryos in order to conduct stem cell research as
"an ethically proper fashion" (his words), is perplexing, and provides us yet
another example of the slippery slope so many of us worry about. I welcome a
debate with Senator Hatch on this issue anytime, anywhere," concluded Weldon.
For more information on human cloning, please go to
http://www.house.gov/weldon/
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