BioCentury
ARTICLE | Politics & Policy

House committee clears cloning bill

July 24, 2001 7:00 AM UTC

The House Judiciary Committee voted 18-11 Tuesday in favor of the Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2001 (H.R. 2505), clearing the path for the full House to consider the bill as early as next week. The vote was along party lines, with Republicans endorsing the bill and Democrats opposing it. The legislation seeks to prohibit all use of somatic cell nuclear transfer technology to clone human cells or tissues. H.R. 2505, which was introduced by Rep. Dave Weldon (R-Fla.) prohibits "introducing nuclear material from one or more human somatic cells into a fertilized or unfertilized oocyte whose nuclear material has been removed or inactivated so as to produce a living organism (at any stage of development) that is genetically virtually identical to an existing or previously existing human organism." The bill also prohibits importation of products derived from such procedures. ...