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Congressional Record article 18 of 200

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HUMAN CLONING PROHIBITION ACT OF 2001 -- (Extensions of Remarks - August 02, 2001)

[Page: E1496]  GPO's PDF
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SPEECH OF HON. STENY H. HOYER

OF MARYLAND IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Tuesday, July 31, 2001

Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, this Congress can and should outlaw the practice of human cloning . No pressing need exists to allow such cloning , and I believe it is appropriate for Congress to make the practice illegal.

However, I cannot support the overbroad approach taken by H.R. 2505. This legislation goes beyond banning reproductive cloning to ban research in somatic cell nuclear transfer. The result is that the bill would cut off scientific developments that are granting new hope to millions of Americans who have been told there is no cure. Without the use of nuclear transfer, these stem cell developments will likely remain in the laboratory and will not be used to help patients.

If H.R. 2505 were to pass into law in its present form it would be difficult, if not impossible, for our nation to benefit from stem cell research that is currently ongoing or that would take place in the future. This is because the only practical means of developing breakthroughs in stem cell research into treatments is through the use of somatic cell nuclear transfer. The bill prohibits the importation of safe and effective medical treatments, and it would use criminal law to interfere with the scientific progress.

Almost every Member of Congress, including myself, agrees that human cloning is unsafe and unethical and should be prohibited. However, I believe the manner in which H.R. 2505 is written would extend the bill's prohibitions far beyond the goal of banning human cloning and would prevent our citizens from benefitting from ongoing or prospective scientific discoveries.