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BILL PROHIBITS HUMAN CLONING By John Cheves HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER FRANKFORT - The Kentucky House approved a bill yesterday to permit embryonic stem-cell research but prohibit human cloning. In a two-hour debate that sometimes was emotional, but often dogmatic and repetitive, legislators hailed embryonic stem-cell research as a potential medical miracle and compared it to slavery and genocide. Scientists in the House gallery watched the 59-to-40 vote with University of Kentucky President Lee Todd and University of Louisville President Jim Ramsey. "This is absolutely critical for us to be able to go forward and continue with our research," Todd said. UK studies stem cells for 17 grant-funded research projects, hoping to use the adaptable cells to replace damaged tissue in victims of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, diabetes and spinal cord injuries, said Del Collins, UK associate vice president for research. Some UK projects involve stem cells taken from adults or umbilical cords. But embryonic stem cells -- which begin with the cultivation of egg cells, using transferred cell nuclei from adult donors -- seem the most adaptable, Collins said. UK researchers working with embryonic stem cells in mice plan soon to progress to humans, he said. House Bill 265, which proceeds to a Senate committee, would require embryonic stem-cell researchers to register their projects with the state Cabinet for Health Services. Opponents of the bill said embryonic stem-cell research using human eggs requires that life be created and then destroyed in a laboratory. Rep. Joe Fischer tried unsuccessfully to amend the bill to prohibit embryonic stem-cell research as well as human cloning. Fischer, R- Fort Thomas, filed a bill that would have done that but it died Wednesday in a House committee. Fischer spoke yesterday "in defense of a tiny embryo not bigger than the period at the end of this sentence." "We believe in the promise of medical science, but we believe that medical science must behave ethically," Fischer said. Rep. Larry Clark, D-Louisville, the bill's sponsor, dismissed comparisons between cultivated egg cells that change into specialized tissue, such as muscles or nerves, and human life. Egg cells in stem- cell research are not fertilized by sperm and would not become babies, Clark said. "I would ask the opponents of this bill, does this group of cells grow an arm? A leg? A heart? A brain? Hands? Does it have a soul? Is it equal -- is it worth my life, or your life?" Clark asked. Other legislators said they supported the bill because of their personal experience with disease, from Rep. Jesse Crenshaw, D- Lexington, who is diabetic, to Rep. Brandon Smith, R-Hazard, whose 7- year-old daughter was diagnosed with an auto-immune system disorder and needs regular and painful injections. Clark's bill faces more controversy in the Senate. Last year, the House passed an anti-cloning bill by Fischer before university officials noticed the bill and objected that the ban would affect their research. That bill failed in the Senate. SOURCE: The Lexington Herald Leader, KY http://www.kentucky.com/mld/heraldleader/news/local/5229584.htm * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn