from the penny-wiseÖ? dept.
The U.S. House of Representatives voted on 31 July 2001 to ban human cloning and to prohibit the practice of cloning human embryos for medical research. The vote would ban cloning not only for reproduction but also for medical research. The measure passed by a wide margin, 265-to-162. The House also rejected a less restrictive measure that would have prohibited making babies by cloning while allowing research into "therapeutic cloning". The rhetoric of the debate was impassioned, and often based on religious or moral grounds, rather than scientific or medical issues:
"Cloning treats human embryos — the basic elements of life itself — as a simple raw material," House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, R-Texas, said. "This exploitative, unholy technique is no better than medical strip mining."
Others said the bill would derail possibly vital medical breakthroughs. "This would stop ongoing studies to help people suffering from a whole litany of life-threatening diseases," House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, D-Mich., said
Coverage of the vote is available from UPI and the New York Times.
