FRC Commends Senator Landrieu, First Democrat to Cosponsor the Senate Ban On Human Cloning
February 6, 2002
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Family Research Council commended Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) Tuesday for her decision to cosponsor the Senate bill to ban human cloning. Sponsored by Sen. Sam Brownback, the Human Cloning Prohibition Act was passed by the House (265-162) last July. Landrieu’s co-sponsorship, along with the considerable victory in the House, demonstrates how the cloning issue transcends lines traditionally drawn in the abortion debate.
“It is apparent that the pro-cloning crowd is on the defensive. They are grasping for neutral and obscure terminology, such as ‘somatic cell nuclear transfer,’ to replace ‘cloning,’ a term the public clearly understands,” Family Research Council President Ken Connor said.
In a Senate hearing on Tuesday, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) recommended to Rep. Jim Greenwood (R-Pa.) that he use the term “somatic cell nuclear transfer,” instead of “therapeutic cloning,” due to the public’s negative reaction to the word “cloning.”
“The public’s aversion to human cloning runs deeper than terminology,” Connor said. “And the public relations difficulty will only increase as the public’s understanding of the real nature of human cloning builds. Sen. Landrieu’s support adds to the groundswell of opposition (90 percent of Americans) to human cloning. We commend her for demonstrating that cloning is an issue in which neither pro-life nor pro-abortion, neither Republican nor Democrat matters. The only thing that matters is a common commitment to ensure that scientific research respect the dignity of human life.”
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