(Washington, D.C.) — U.S. Representative Ron Lewis, along with a number of his House colleagues, urged the Senate to approve a full ban on human cloning today.  Lewis supported the cloning ban the House passed by a large margin this summer. 

“This week scientists have reported that they cloned human embryos.  Other scientists claim they will be able to clone a human being in within months.  Human lives are not acceptable scientific guinea pigs.  An effective ban on human cloning needs to be implemented,” said Lewis.  

Lewis said although Congress has been focusing most of its attention on recovery from the September 11 attacks and the war on terrorism, the long-standing debate on the legality of human cloning needs to be resolved soon.

“I think many people in Kentucky agree that we should not allow any type of human cloning,” said Lewis.  “Human lives are not research material, and scientists should not have power and control over a person’s identity and unique characteristics.  This truly is a frightening prospect.”

The House approved legislation in July by a vote of 265-162 that would prohibit use of cloning techniques to create new human life.  Cloning of DNA or cells that do not create new human life would be allowed.  President Bush has said he would sign this legislation into law.

“The scientists who cloned Dolly the sheep used 277 sheep embryos, and all except one of these failed to survive development or had to be thrown out,” said Lewis.  “Cloning for research purposes will only lead to one end in the long run: the cloning of humans.  So-called therapeutic cloning has produced no medical breakthroughs and will only produce ethical and legal disaster.”