Pro-life petition to ban human cloning spreads in Louisiana
- May 3, 2008
BATON ROUGE, La. – A petition to “ban human cloning once and for all in Louisiana” is spreading across the state.
Leaders in the Louisiana pro-life movement say they hope for at least 10,000 signatures by the time the petition is presented to Governor Bobby Jindal and members of the Legislature in late April.
As of the first week in April, about 1,000 people had signed the petition, which starts with four “whereas” reasons behind its “Therefore, I, a citizen of the state of Louisiana, want to protect human life by embracing ethical cures, not destructive clones. With Louisiana Right to Life Federation and thousands of other pro-life people, I petition the Louisiana Legislature to pass an authentic human cloning ban, and for Governor Jindal to sign the legislation into law.”
The petition can be viewed in its entirety and signed online at www.prolifelouisiana.org, and copies of the petition can be downloaded and printed for those who want to ask their friends, neighbors, coworkers and church family to sign the petition, which then needs to be returned to the Metairie headquarters of the Louisiana Right to Life Federation.
“Time is of the essence,” said Ben Clapper, executive director of LRLF. “This petition is to go to the governor at the end of the month.”
LRLF has been at the center of the ring for the last five years in opposition to human cloning either for reproduction or for research, Clapper said.
Significant opposition to an across-the-board ban of human cloning has come from biotech firms in the state, and from some elected officials who support the work of biotech firms in the state, Clapper said.
A new slate of elected officials and a new legislative session give hope that this year, Louisiana will join Iowa, Indiana and Michigan in enacting laws that completely ban human cloning. In all, 15 states have laws pertaining to human cloning, an issue first addressed in California in 1997.
California bans reproductive cloning, but not cloning for research. Louisiana had a similar law, but it expired in 2003.
The Louisiana Legislature is looking at two bills this session, Clapper said. The bill under consideration by the House would ban funding for cloning.
Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, authored the bill with 54 co-sponsors, out of the House’s 105 state representatives.
The bill before the Louisiana Senate would ban all cloning.
State Senator Blade Morrish, R-Lake Charles, authored this bill, with State Senator Sharon Weston Broone, D-Baton Rouge and Speaker Pro Tempore, and State Senator Danny Martiny, R-Metairie, as co-sponsors.
“Either one passed will be a victory,” Clapper said.
Learn more about the science of stem cell research at www.prolifelouisiana.org/education/cloning.
Sign the petition online or download the petition for others to sign it at www.prolifelouisiana.org/petition/
This article is reprinted from the April 17, 2008, issue of the Baptist Message, the newsjournal of the Louisiana Baptist Convention.
Further Learning
Learn more about: Life, Cloning, Citizenship, Legislation