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Presidential panel to recommend law banning human cloning
June 4, 1997
Web posted at: 10:26 p.m. EDT (0226 GMT)From Correspondent Charles Bierbauer
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A presidential advisory panel will recommend that Congress ban human cloning for the purpose of creating a baby, according to commission members.
President Clinton asked the National Bioethics Commission to study the dilemmas presented by the cloning of an adult sheep in Scotland.
Charles Bierbauer reports - VXtreme streaming video
Commission members told CNN that when they meet Saturday, they will call on Congress for restrictive legislation. The commissioners are also expected to take a very narrow view on what other research, using cloned material, might be permitted within the private sector.
The commission will also suggest a "sunset provision" in the law that would end the ban sometime in the future if cloning were thought to be safe.
The cloned sheep named "Dolly" demonstrated the possibility of human cloning in a way previously not considered viable. The experiment was the first successful clone of a genetic duplicate individual from an adult mammal.
"The commission views trying now to clone a human, after one successful animal cloning, to be unethical, irresponsible and unprofessional," said one panel member.
In March, Clinton put a temporary halt to the prospect, issuing a directive to ban the use of federal funds for any project related to the possible cloning of human beings, he said.
Panel members told CNN they would recommend continuing the president's moratorium until legislation banning human cloning could be enacted.
The commission of doctors, lawyers and ethicists is avoiding the amorphous question of when life begins.
Federal funding of embryo research has been barred since 1994. Several members also favor a voluntary moratorium on human cloning efforts by private sector researchers.
Cloning research does offer medical possibilities apart from creating a cloned baby. Cloning of cells, such as liver and bone marrow, could eliminate the problem of rejection of donor cells.
"Cloning applies to a whole lot of things which are not controversial," said commission member Lawrence Miike of the Hawaii State Department of Health.
Related stories:
- Clinton bars federal funds for human cloning research - March 4, 1997
- Scientists grow monkeys from cloned embryos - March 2, 1997
- Poll: Most Americans say cloning is wrong - March 1, 1997
- Scientists defend cloning of sheep - February 25, 1997
- Should we be cloning around? - February 24, 1997
Related sites:
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- White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
- National Bioethics Advisory Committee
- National Science & Technology Council
- Roslin Institute
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