The Pro-Life Case for Cloning:
"Senator Hatch, whose pro-life credentials are every bit as
strong as the president's, concluded that the tiny clusters of cells that
scientists use in laboratory experiments cannot be equated with human
life.
Indeed, the senator said that once he had mastered the subject, his
decision to
back therapeutic cloning, which could benefit millions of Americans
suffering
from intractable diseases, "was not -- and I repeat not -- a close call."
FROM: The New York Times
May 2, 2002, Thursday, Late Edition - Final
SECTION: Section A; Page 26; Column 1; Editorial Desk
HEADLINE: The Pro-Life Case for Cloning
Full article:
" Senator Orrin Hatch, a conservative Republican and longstanding
opponent of
abortion, jolted social and religious conservatives this week when he
came out
strongly in favor of therapeutic cloning. The Utah Republican offered a
way of
thinking about this divisive issue that could prove far more persuasive
with
wavering senators than the cramped policy championed by President Bush.
Mr. Bush
favors a ban on all human cloning, whether to make a human baby or for
research
on potentially lifesaving therapies.
The president opposes even research cloning because it involves the
creation
of embryos that are then destroyed to obtain stem cells for research and
potential treatments. Senator Hatch, whose pro-life credentials are every
bit as
strong as the president's, concluded that the tiny clusters of cells that
scientists use in laboratory experiments cannot be equated with human
life.
Indeed, the senator said that once he had mastered the subject, his
decision to
back therapeutic cloning, which could benefit millions of Americans
suffering
from intractable diseases, "was not -- and I repeat not -- a close call."
Mr. Hatch's announcement came as the Senate is moving fitfully toward
a vote
on human cloning. One bill, which has passed the House and been endorsed
by
President Bush, would ban all human cloning, whether for research or
reproduction. A far better bill, backed by Mr. Hatch and other senators,
would
ban reproductive cloning but allow research and therapeutic cloning to go
forward. Scientists believe the research could eventually yield
treatments for
such diseases as diabetes, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, heart disease and
cancer.
In an explanation that deserves close attention, Mr. Hatch described
why he
believes the tiny cell clusters that scientists work with should not be
considered human life. In therapeutic cloning, he noted, scientists first
take
the genetic material from, say, the skin cell of an adult and inject it
into a
female egg cell whose own genetic material has been removed. Then they
stimulate
the cell electrically and it begins to divide in a laboratory dish,
enabling
scientists to harvest stem cells that can be used for research on
potential
therapies.
Although some right-to-lifers contend that the new cell created in the
laboratory becomes a human life at the moment it is electrically
activated, Mr.
Hatch disagreed. He noted that the egg is never fertilized with sperm,
and that
the embryo will not be implanted in a woman's womb, so there is no chance
of a
birth. "At the core of my support for regenerative medicine research is
my
belief that human life requires and begins in a mother's nurturing womb,"
he
said, echoing a stance he took last year in the stem cell debate. With
the
Senate closely divided, Mr. Hatch's position should give a welcome boost
to the
advocates of therapeutic cloning.
http://www.nytimes.com
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