FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 27, 2003
feinstein.senate.gov
Statement by Senator Dianne Feinstein
– on the vote in the House of Representatives
to Ban Nuclear Transplantation Research –
***** Senator Judiciary Committee Hearing Scheduled March 6 on Bill to Ban Reproductive Cloning, but Allow Nuclear Transplantation Research*****
"Today’s vote in the House of Representatives to ban nuclear transplantation research is truly unfortunate. This vote sends the wrong message to America’s medical research community and threatens to dash the hopes of 128 million Americans whose lives could benefit from this research.
Indeed, nuclear transplantation research offers very real hope to those suffering from paralysis and many debilitating diseases, including Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and juvenile diabetes and should be allowed to proceed.
Earlier this month, I introduced comprehensive bipartisan legislation with Republican Senators Orrin Hatch of Utah and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania and Democrats Edward Kennedy and Tom Harkin, which would ban human reproductive cloning, but allow somatic cell nuclear transplantation research to continue under strict guidelines.
Senator Hatch, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, has scheduled a hearing on March 6. I welcome his support and commitment on this issue.In a recent letter to Senator Hatch, former First Lady Nancy Reagan noted that: ‘there are so many diseases that can be cured, or at least helped, that we can’t turn our back on this [research]. We’ve lost so much time already. I can’t bear to lose any more.’
I share Mrs. Reagan’s concerns, which is why I find today’s vote all the more alarming. If it were to become law, the House bill would prove an enormous setback, and would delay possible cures indefinitely.
How can we tell the 13,000 American children diagnosed every year with juvenile diabetes, or the 250,000 Americans paralyzed by spinal cord injuries, that in our rightful desire to ban human reproductive cloning, we will also turn away from an avenue that could offer them and their families a new life?
Like the bill that passed the House of Representatives, the legislation we introduced would ban human reproductive cloning. On this there is no disagreement. Human reproductive cloning is immoral and unethical, and it must not be allowed under circumstances.
Our legislation would likewise impose a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison for anyone even attempting to clone a human being, and a establish a minimum civil penalty of $1 million or three times the gross profits resulting from the violation, whichever is greater.
Where our two bills differ, however – and differ dramatically – is when it comes to nuclear transplantation research. We would allow this research to continue, under strict federal guidelines, including the informed consent of research participants, review by an ethics board, and protections for the safety and privacy of those participants.
Our legislation would also prohibit the use of fertilized eggs, as well as the conduct of any nuclear research more than 14 days after the first cell division – rules already adopted in the United Kingdom – to alleviate the potential for exploitation of women and prevent so-called "embryo farms."
I deeply believe that Congress should pass a tough law that prohibits human cloning. Yet Congress is equally bound to protect promising research that could one day save millions of lives, improve the quality of life for millions more, and turn hope into reality. Unfortunately, a majority in the House of Representatives sees otherwise. Still, I remain confident that similar legislation will not pass the United States Senate."
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