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Congress Moves to Block Human Patenting by Keith Peters, Washington, D.C., correspondent November 26, 2003 Can you get a patent on human life? U.S. Rep. David Weldon wants to make sure the answer is no. People get patents for all sorts of things — inventions, slogans, new computer applications — but what about patents on life? Some will try, and that's why Congress is moving to ban patents on any human organism. Pro-life U.S. Rep David Weldon, R-Fla., has proposed an amendment to stop biotech researchers and companies from creating human embryos, patenting them and ultimately selling them for profit. "I used the term 'human organism' deliberately because it's a scientific term and it covers embryonic human life, fetal human life as well as born human beings," Weldon said. The amendment was agreed to by House and Senate conferees and is part of an end-of-year omnibus appropriations bill. Richard Doerflinger, of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, said it's a good move. "There are some people in the biotechnology industry," he said, "who are moving in this direction, who wanted to be able to say that if they had made a human embryo by some reproductive technology such as cloning or if they have modified the embryo genetically in any way, that embryo becomes their invention, their manufacture and they can own this fellow human." Douglas Johnson, legislative director of the National Right to Life Committee, said Weldon's amendment will prevent that. "This is progress," he said. SOURCE: Family News In Focus, CO http://www.family.org/cforum/fnif/news/a0028982.cfm * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn