US scientists are reeling after the US House of Representatives voted to ban all forms of human cloning. If enacted, The Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2003 will impose a complete ban on human cloning, whether to create a pregnancy or for medical research. The Act would also make it a crime to “receive or import a cloned human embryo or any product derived from a cloned human embryo.” Offenders would face a fine of $1 million and 10 years in prison. In theory, this means that US citizens seeking embryonic stem cell research-based treatments abroad could face criminal charges when they return home. The bill now moves to the Senate, which failed to make a decision on a similar bill back in 2001, however the new Senate majority leader, Tennessee Republican Bill Frist, has said he supports a ban on all cloning, including therapeutic cloning. Michael Werner, vice president for bioethics at the Biotechnology Industry Organization, an industry group, described the “draconian legislation” as “overkill.”
SOURCE/REFERENCE: Reported by www.reutershealth.com on the 28th February 2003
