Two possible results from this impasse:
- Bush is now being urged by conservative groups to issue an
executive order prohibiting federally funded universities and research
organizations from performing cloning.
- The uncertainty of their research becoming a criminal act and
uncertainty over funding could dissuade some scientistss to work with
cloned cells, adding more roadblocks to the research and slowing it down
once again.
See the CAMR website for more info: www.camradvocacy.org
Linda
FROM: The Washington Post
June 14, 2002, Friday, Final Edition
SECTION: A SECTION; Pg. A04
HEADLINE: Anti-Cloning Bills Stall in Senate; Vote Unlikely Soon
BYLINE: Helen Dewar, Washington Post Staff Writer
Prospects for legislation to ban the cloning of human cells, one of
the most
contentious issues facing Congress and the White House, dimmed
considerably
yesterday as negotiations over ground rules collapsed in the Senate. The
Senate
had planned to begin consideration today of rival bills, including one
that
would ban all forms of human embryonic cloning and another that would
forbid
cloning to create new humans but allow it for medical research. But
yesterday's
impasse made it unclear how -- or even whether -- the Senate would
resolve the
issue.
Prospects for a resolution this year are "substantially" reduced,
said
Majority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.). He said he had no further
plans to
bring up the legislation.
Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), principal advocate of a ban on human
cell
cloning, appeared reconciled to trying to add his proposal -- or at least
pieces
of it -- to unrelated bills.
But an aide to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said Feinstein plans
to
continue pressing for her bill to ban cloning for reproduction while
allowing it
for research. Daschle indicated he would bring up her bill if she had a
good
chance of gathering the votes to pass it, the aide said.
President Bush has endorsed -- and the GOP-controlled House has
approved --
a ban on cloning of human embryos, whether for research or reproductive
purposes. But the Democratic-controlled Senate appears closely divided
over
whether to impose a ban or to allow cloning aimed at producing stem cells
with
the potential for curing many diseases, including Alzheimer's and
Parkinson's.
Neither side appeared to have the 60 Senate votes needed to prevail,
although Daschle said earlier this week he believed that advocates of
cloning
for medical research were within reach of the required number.
Senate negotiations broke down Wednesday in a dispute over ground
rules for
the debate, amendment processes, final votes and other procedural details
that
could have given a critical advantage to one side.
Brownback, who earlier backed off the idea of a permanent ban on
cloning in
favor of a two-year moratorium, said he believed Daschle's proposed
ground rules
were stacked against him. Among other things, Brownback wanted his
proposal
voted on after the other proposal, generally regarded as an advantageous
sequence. Daschle said no. Brownback said he would explore alternatives,
including the amendment strategy.
Brownback did not say when he might start carving up his bill and
offering
pieces as amendments, but he said votes were likely "sooner rather than
later."
Last night, as the Senate debated a terrorism insurance bill, he tried to
add an
amendment that would ban issuance of U.S. patents on cloning technology.
That issue will be resolved next week, but several senators were
openly
skeptical of Brownback's strategy. Opponents of any of his proposals
could offer
competing measures and force the Kansas senator to come up with 60 votes
to
prevail.
Minority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.), who supported Brownback's bill,
did
not appear eager to try a piecemeal approach.
"I don't ascribe to that strategy," Lott told reporters. Although he
has
often been critical of Daschle, Lott declined to join Brownback in
suggesting
that Daschle had not lived up to his earlier commitment to bring up the
legislation. Daschle "has fulfilled his commitment," Lott said.
Activists on both sides of the cloning issue said they would press
for a
Senate decision, fearing that the status quo leaves too much uncertainty.
The Family Research Council, a conservative group with close ties to
the
White House, urged Bush to issue an executive order prohibiting federally
funded
universities and research organizations from performing cloning.
Proponents of
"therapeutic cloning," meanwhile, said that without legislation spelling
out
their rights, scientists will be afraid to begin research that could
later be
criminalized."
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