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A TWO YEAR MORATORIUM, NOT LOOKING GOOD FOR US! WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Seeking to broaden support before a U.S. Senate debate that could start this week, the lead sponsor of a bill to ban human cloning will likely seek a two-year moratorium instead of a permanent ban, several senators and Senate aides said on Tuesday. Kansas Republican Sam Brownback has called for a ban on all human cloning -- both "reproductive" cloning aimed at creating a cloned human baby and so-called therapeutic cloning to create embryos for stem-cell research. Neither Brownback nor his lead Democratic co-sponsor, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, was available for comment, but several fellow Republicans said Brownback announced at a Republican Senate lunch he was going to seek a moratorium instead of a ban. A Brownback aide declined to comment on any changes to the legislation, saying only that the senator strongly preferred a ban but was considering his options. The House of Representatives has already voted to ban all forms of cloning, a position strongly endorsed by President Bush. There is deep bipartisan support in the Senate for outlawing attempts to clone a human baby, but there is a divide over permitting "therapeutic cloning" as an aspect of stem-cell research. Therapeutic cloning involves destruction of the embryo when the stem cells are extracted. Stem cells are believed to have the capacity to change into numerous types of cells and may hold out hope for treatments for an array of diseases from Parkinson's to cancer. ALTERNATIVE TACTIC? Neither side in the cloning debate is believed to have the 60 votes needed to overcome procedural obstacles in the Senate, and several Republicans said Brownback had decided to offer the moratorium as an alternative tactic. "He made an announcement at (the weekly Republican) lunch today," said Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Arlen Specter, a co-sponsor of the competing legislation that allows therapeutic cloning. "I have the impression that he's going to seek a two-year moratorium on cloning," said Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, a Mississippi Republican, saying it was up to Brownback to release details. Sen. Edward Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat and co-sponsor with Specter of the bill that would ban any attempt to create a cloned human baby but would allow cloning for stem cells, said he did not regard a moratorium as an acceptable compromise. "A moratorium of a year or two may not seem like much to you and me, but it could mean the difference between life and death for a patient," Kennedy said. "We must not put a moratorium on the hope that this important medical research brings to millions of patients and their families across America." Lott and Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, a South Dakota Democrat, said they were trying to finalize an agreement to have the Senate open the long-awaited debate this Friday, with votes early next week. Tom Berdine Founder; YoungParkinsons.com HYPERLINK "http://www.youngparkinsons.com"www.youngparkinsons.com State Coordinator, New Mexico Parkinson's Action Network HYPERLINK "http://www.parkinsonsaction.org/"www.parkinsonsaction.org/ President, Young Onset Parkinson's Association (YOPA) HYPERLINK "http://www.roundisfunny.com/test/pdhood.html"http://www.roundisfunny.co m/test/pdhood.html --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.370 / Virus Database: 205 - Release Date: 6/5/2002 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn