Campbell Offers Bill to Ban Human Cloning
Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo.) yesterday introduced a bill to bar human cloning and "urged" the House to follow suit, Agence France-Presse reports. The bill (SB 704), to be taken up by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, would ban "all attempts" to clone humans, "regardless of whether this effort is financed with government or private funds." Those found in violation of the ban would face up to 10 years in jail and a fine of up to $10 million. In 1997, former President Bill Clinton declared a five-year moratorium on government funding of cloning research, but privately funded research was allowed to continue. Since then, attempts to pass legislation barring the practice have failed. White House officials have indicated that President Bush would support legislation outlawing human cloning on "moral grounds" (Agence France-Presse, 4/6).
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