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Louisiana House Panel Debates An End To Cloning By KEVIN McGILL Associated Press Writer Last modified: May 05. 2004 5:11PM BATON ROUGE, La. -- The cloning of human cells - whether for the development of stem cells for medical research or for the creation of a human being - would be illegal under legislation approved 5-4 by a committee on Wednesday. The close vote was preceded by arguments touching on morality, simple economics and the complexities of when life begins. And it was often emotional for witnesses as well as members of the House Criminal Justice Committee. Opponents of the measure by Rep. Gary Beard, R-Baton Rouge, said it went too far and could block badly needed research that could lead to cures for Parkinson's disease and diabetes among others. Victims of those diseases, children and adults, tearfully asked the committee to vote against Beard's bill. Rep. Roy Burrell, who eventually voted for the bill, was noticeably shaken and unable to finish a sentence when it came his turn to ask a question: "I'm very very torn with this issue because my daughter happens to be ..." he said before stopping, getting up and briefly leaving his seat. He later explained that his daughter is a diabetic. As explained by its supporters, the bill deals with the creation of a human embryo by placing a donor's genetic material into a human egg cell from which all DNA material has been removed; the fused egg and donor cell can then be used to produce "stem cells" in a petri dish for use in gene therapies for various maladies. Or, it could be implanted in a woman's womb, where it would supposedly develop into a genetic duplicate of the DNA donor. Senate president Don Hines, a physician, agreed that implanting such cells to create another human being would be wrong and should be illegal. But Hines, D-Bunkie, said Beard's bill goes too far, by forbidding the use of cloned stem cells. "We're on the cutting edge of medicine that can relieve a lot of human misery ... I would hate for us to curtail a line of research," Hines said. Dorinda Bordlee, an anti-abortion activist and an attorney, made two main points for Beard's bill: that the fused cell is a human being at its earliest stage of life and that such beings should not be created merely to be killed for research; and that research from such cells is prohibitively expensive and has so far resulted in no workable therapies. "Adult" stem cells taken from blood, bone marrow, placenta and umbilical cords has shown more promise, she said. She said biotech industries have flourished in other states that have outlawed cloned embryonic stem cell research because they don't waste money on the unproven therapy. Beard himself said he sympathizes with the bill's opponents but said they place "false hope" in embryonic stem cell research. "Being from a family of diabetics where death and blindness has affected my family, I would never put a bill through that would intentionally hurt anyone," he said. His bill goes next to the full House. Hines, meanwhile, has a competing Senate bill, outlawing cloning to create human beings, but not stem cells. It is awaiting a Senate committee hearing. Reps. Beverly Bruce, D-Mansfield; Burrell, D-Shreveport; Donald Cazayouz, D-New Roads; Arthur Morrell, D-New Orleans; and Mack White, R-Denham Springs voted for the bill. Against it were Reps. Damon Baldone, D-Houma; Eric LaFleur, D- Ville Platte; Errol Romero, D-New Iberia and Ernest Wooton, D-Belle Chasse. --- On the Net: Beard's bill is HB557; Hines is SB74. Both can be viewed at the Legislature's Web site: http://www.legis.state.la.us SOURCE: Associated Press / The Sarasota Herald-Tribune, FL - May 5, 2004 http://tinyurl.com/29m7d * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn