Democratic nominee Kerry endorses ‘clone-and-kill’ bill
- Jun 15, 2004 - comment
Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry signed on July 13 as co-sponsor of a bill that would permit embryos to be cloned but require they be destroyed early in their development.
Kerry officially became a co-sponsor of the Human Cloning Ban and Stem Cell Research Protection Act, S. 303. The bill, though labeled a “cloning ban,” actually allows the cloning of an embryo for research purposes but prohibits a clone from developing 14 days beyond its first cell division, thereby barring the clone’s further growth and birth.
The Massachusetts senator is a strong supporter of abortion rights, so his position on cloning did not come as a surprise. The timing — less than two weeks before the Democratic National Convention and 16 months after the bill was introduced in this Congress – did seem interesting.
Pro-lifers have condemned the legislation, with some labeling it a “clone-and-kill” bill.
“This bill doesn’t really ban any human cloning – it bans human clone survival, which is a radically different thing,” Douglas Johnson, legislative director of the National Right to Life Committee, has said.
President Bush has endorsed another measure, the Human Cloning Prohibition Act, S. 245. That bill, sponsored by Sen. Sam Brownback, R.-Kan., has 28 co-sponsors. Brownback’s bill would ban cloning to produce an embryo, whether it is for research or birth.
Neither Senate bill has made progress in this Congress. The House of Representatives, however, easily approved a comprehensive cloning ban in 2003.
The ERLC and other pro-life organizations have endorsed Brownback’s ban.