Home > 105th Congressional Documents > H.Doc.105-98 CUMULATIVE REPORT ON RESCISSIONS AND DEFERRALS, JUNE 1, 1997 ...H.Doc.105-98 CUMULATIVE REPORT ON RESCISSIONS AND DEFERRALS, JUNE 1, 1997 ...
105th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 105-97
DRAFT LEGISLATION ENTITLED THE ``CLONING PROHIBITION ACT OF 1997''
__________
MESSAGE
from
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
transmitting
A DRAFT OF PROPOSED LEGISLATION TO PROHIBIT ANY ATTEMPT TO CREATE A
HUMAN BEING USING SOMATIC CELL NUCLEAR TRANSFER, TO PROVIDE FOR FURTHER
REVIEW OF THE ETHICAL AND SCIENTIFIC ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH THE USE OF
SOMATIC CELL NUCLEAR TRANSFER IN HUMAN BEINGS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
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June 10, 1997.--Message and accompanying papers referred to the
Committee on Commerce and ordered to be printed
To the Congress of the United States:
I am pleased to transmit today for immediate consideration
and prompt enactment the ``Cloning Prohibition Act of 1997.''
This legislative proposal would prohibit any attempt to create
a human being using somatic cell nuclear transfer technology,
the method that was used to create Dolly the sheep. This
proposal will also provide for further review of the ethical
and scientific issues associated with the use of somatic cell
nuclear transfer in human beings.
Following the February report that a sheep had been
successfully cloned using a new technique, I requested my
National Bioethics Advisory Commission to examine the ethical
and legal implications of applying the same cloning technology
to human beings. The Commission concluded that at this time
``it is morally unacceptable for anyone in the public or
private sector, whether in a research or clinical setting, to
attempt to create a child using somatic cell nuclear transfer
cloning'' and recommended that Federal legislation be enacted
to prohibit such activities. I agree with the Committee's
conclusion and am transmitting this legislative proposal to
implement its recommendation.
Various forms of cloning technology have been used for
decades resulting in important biomedical and agricultural
advances. Genes, cells, tissues, and even whole plants and
animals have been cloned to develop new therapies for treating
such disorders as cancer, diabetes, and cystic fibrosis.
Cloning technology also holds promise for producing replacement
skin, cartilage, or bone tissue for burn or accident victims,
and nerve tissue to treat spinal cord injury. Therefore,
nothing in the ``Cloning Prohibition Act of 1997'' restricts
activities in other areas of biomedical and agricultural
research that involve: (1) the use of somatic cell nuclear
transfer or other cloning technologies to clone molecules, DNA,
cells, and tissues; or (2) the use of somatic cell nuclear
transfer techniques to create animals.
The Commission recommended that such legislation provide
for further review of the state of somatic cell nuclear
transfer technology and the ethical and social issues attendant
to its potential use to create human beings. My legislative
proposal would implement this recommendation and assign
responsibility for the review, to be completed in the fifth
year after passage of the legislation, to the National
Bioethics Advisory Commission.
I urge the Congress to give this legislation prompt and
favorable consideration.
William J. Clinton.
The White House, June 9, 1997.
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