House votes to ban all cloning
The U.S. House of Representatives voted 265-162 Wednesday to pass H.R. 2505, the Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2001, a bill that seeks to ban all somatic cell nuclear transfer cloning of human cells and tissues. The bill, which was sponsored by Rep. Dave Weldon (R-Fla.), specifically prohibits use of cloned human cells or tissue for therapies or research. H.R. 2505 also includes a provision making it illegal to import any product derived from cloned human tissues or cells.
The bill received strong support from President Bush and the House Republican leadership. The White House issued a statement Monday indicating that "although some technical issues may warrant further review, the administration strongly supports the bill's overall intent and would welcome its passage by the House." Opponents of H.R. 2505 said it would effectively prohibit the therapeutic application of embryonic stem cell research, but several members of Congress who voted for H.R. 2505 said they favor federal funding of embryonic stem cell research and believe the technology could be applied without cloning. ...