Senator Feinstein To Chair Judiciary Hearing on Legislation to Ban Human Cloning,
while Allowing Therapeutic Cloning for Research
January 24, 2001

Washington, DC - Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today announced that she will chair a Judiciary Committee hearing next month with the focus on legislation she has sponsored to make the cloning of a human being a crime, while allowing other medical research, known as therapeutic cloning, to proceed.

"There is broad agreement across our society, in the Congress, in the scientific community, in the medical community, and in the religious community that the cloning of a human being should be prohibited because it is scientifically unsafe, morally unacceptable and ethically flawed," Senator Feinstein said. "However, there is also broad agreement in the medical and scientific community that the House bill will impede the potential cures of many diseases that plague humankind."

The legislation introduced by Senator Feinstein (S.1758) in December makes it unlawful for any person or other legal entity, public or private (1) to conduct or attempt to conduct human cloning; (2) to ship the product of nuclear transplantation in interstate or foreign commerce for the purpose of human cloning in the United States or elsewhere; or (3) to use federal funds for these activities.

The bill would allow stem cell research or other forms of biomedical research such as gene therapy. It is cosponsored by Senators Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), Barbara Boxer (D-Calf.), Zell Miller (D-Georgia), Jon Corzine (D-N.J.), Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) and Richard Durbin (D- Ill.)

"Senator Leahy, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, has authorized me to chair a hearing on cloning legislation next month, and the primary focus will be this bill," Senator Feinstein said.

The bill defines "human cloning" as asexual reproduction by implanting or attempting to implant the product of nuclear transplantation into a uterus. "Nuclear transplantation" means transferring the nucleus of a human somatic (body) cell into an oocyte (egg) from which the nucleus or all chromosomes have been or will be removed or rendered inert.

Violators face 10 years in prison and a civil penalty of $1 million or three times the gross pecuniary gain resulting from the violation, whichever is greater.

"The critical difference between the bill I sponsored and a cloning bill approved by the House is that S. 1758 protects important research that may provide cures for diseases like cancer, diabetes, cystic fibrosis, and heart disease; and conditions like spinal cord injury, liver damage, arthritis and burns, while the House bill would ban this research," Senator Feinstein said.

"S. 1758 would also allow cloning to develop replacement cells and tissues that restore bodily function and treat diseases. The potential to create cells for therapeutic cloning holds great promise of saving million of lives some day."

Therapeutic cloning legislation has received the support of a myriad of medical and health experts.

Organizations that support the bill include the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, which represents more than 600,000 of our nation's biomedical researchers. In a recent letter to Senator Feinstein, the organization wrote: "We applaud the authors of S. 1758 for their carefully worded bill which has the potential to expedite the development of therapies for millions of Americans."

The American Association of Medical Colleges said in a letter to Senator Feinstein: "therapeutic cloning technology could provide an invaluable approach to studying how cells become specialized, which in turn could provide new understanding of the mechanisms that lead to the development of the abnormal cells responsible for cancers and certain birth defects."

The National Health Council said, "making reproductive cloning unlawful must be done in a way that does not deprive those suffering from debilitating chronic diseases, potential relief and possible cures."

The Alliance for Aging Research wrote, "Scientists who utilized therapeutic cloning techniques in the conduct of important scientific research would be labeled as criminals. The consequence would be that important research intended to save lives and reduce suffering of tens of millions of Americans would be stopped in its tracks."