Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company  
The New York Times
May 1, 2002, Wednesday, Late Edition - Final
SECTION: Section A;  Page 20;  Column 1;  National Desk  

LENGTH: 816 words

HEADLINE: Key Republican Backs Cloning in Research

BYLINE:  By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG  

DATELINE: WASHINGTON, April 30

BODY:
With the Senate split over whether to ban human cloning for medical research, an influential Republican, Orrin G. Hatch of Utah, broke with President Bush today to join Democrats in supporting the science.

As a longtime opponent of abortion, Senator Hatch would ordinarily be expected to oppose cloning because the experiments involve human embryos. Proponents of the science hoped his endorsement would help sway undecided senators, especially conservative Republicans.

"I come to this issue with a strong pro-life, pro-family record," he said. "But I do believe that a critical part of being pro-life is to support measures that help the living."

The Senate is expected to vote on human cloning by the end of May. Lawmakers on both sides of the debate say that the outcome -- with roughly 40 senators supporting the research, 40 opposing it and 20 undecided -- is too close to call.

Mr. Hatch, who last year helped persuade Republicans to support embryonic stem cell research, aired his views first in an opinion piece published today in The Salt Lake Tribune and then at a news conference that was jammed with patients, scientists, religious leaders and fellow senators. He was flanked by posterboard blowups of two letters supporting cloning research, one from 40 Nobel laureates, the other from former President Gerald R. Ford.

"It's the same watershed moment," Michael Manganiello, spokesman for the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research, which represents patients and scientists, said afterward. "The moment Senator Hatch came out in support of stem cell research was the moment the tide turned."

In fact, there are important differences in the two debates. Embryonic stem cell research is typically conducted on embryos left over from efforts in in vitro fertilization. Cloning, for many, is more problematic, because it would involve the creation and destruction of embryos for the express purpose of obtaining cells and tissues to treat disease.

Opponents of the work, including Mr. Bush, have warned that the research would lead to "embryo farms" and cloned babies: children who are, in effect, genetic carbon copies of adults.

The House of Representatives has already passed legislation that would ban human cloning either for reproduction or research. At issue in the Senate is whether to pass identical legislation, or to adopt an alternative measure, introduced today, that would make reproductive cloning a federal crime but would leave the door open for research.

The measure, which Mr. Hatch said he would co-sponsor, calls for a 10-year jail term and $1 million fine for anyone who tries to clone a child, either by implanting a cloned embryo into a woman's womb or into an artificial womb. It would require cloning research experiments to be approved by hospital or university ethics committees.

Senator Dianne Feinstein, the California Democrat who is the bill's lead sponsor, said she hoped the legislation would "bring out a broad consensus." But research opponents immediately denounced it.

"Under this bill, what President Bush called embryo farms will spring up and flourish," said Douglas Johnson, spokesman for the National Right to Life Committee.

The opponents had few kind words for Mr. Hatch, who justified his support for the research by saying that life begins in a woman's womb, "not in a petri dish." Kenneth L. Connor, president of the conservative Family Research Council, called that argument "empty sophistry."

But Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts and another co-sponsor of the Feinstein bill, praised Mr. Hatch as taking a politically difficult stand. Mr. Kennedy said Mr. Hatch's support "proves once again that support for patients knows no party lines."

Discussions of morality in science have percolated in the capital for nearly a year and were in evidence again today, as Elias A. Zerhouni, the Bush administration's nominee to direct the National Institutes of Health, appeared before the Senate health committee for his confirmation hearing. Mr. Kennedy, the committee chairman, said he expected that Dr. Zerhouni would be confirmed by the full Senate by the end of the week.

During the hearing, Dr. Zerhouni carefully avoided offering his personal views on stem cell research or cloning. The senators, led by Mr. Kennedy, did not push him. Senator Paul Wellstone, Democrat of Minnesota, did ask him, though, if he would press President Bush to revisit his policy about limiting federal financing for embryonic stem cell research should it become apparent that more studies were needed.

Dr. Zerhouni replied that if there were evidence to that effect, he would be "first in line" to provide it to lawmakers and the public.

"I'm not sure if that was a yes or no answer," Mr. Wellstone replied. "I don't think it was the kind of commitment I was hoping for."
 

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GRAPHIC: Photo: Elias A. Zerhouni, the administration's nominee to direct the National Institutes of Health, appeared before the Senate health panel yesterday but avoided offering his views on stem cell research or cloning. (Associated Press)

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