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LOUISIANA: Effort To Outlaw Cloning Of Human Cells Stalls In House By KEVIN McGILL Associated Press Writer Last modified: May 10. 2004 6:33PM BATON ROUGE, La. -- Rep. Gary Beard's effort to outlaw the cloning of human cells was dealt a setback Monday by the House, which voted 55-42 for an amendment to allow the creation of cloned cells for medical "stem-cell" research. Beard had opposed the amendment by Rep. Eric LaFleur, D-Ville Platte, and pulled back his bill when the amendment was added. He could bring the bill up again later and try to strip the LaFleur amendment. Lawmakers generally agree that the duplication of a human being through cloning should be illegal. The disagreement concerns the cloning of a human cell to create an embryo that is not intended for implantation in a woman's womb. Cells are cloned 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 developing 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. Stem cells are the body's building blocks and have the potential to become many different types of cells. Scientists believe the cells can be coaxed into specific cells to repair organs or treat diseases such as diabetes, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. Beard wanted to outlaw the creation of the new embryo. LaFleur warned that even therapies developed in other states from the cloning of embryos would be illegal in Louisiana hospitals under Beard's bill. Lobbying on the bill has been intense and often emotional. Beard's supporters say the value of research from embryonic cells has been overvalued and that stem cells taken not from embryos but from the blood or bone marrow or even the fat of fully developed human beings is more promising. Some question the morality of creating an embryonic cell for the purpose of killing it in the development of therapies. And some worried that the embryonic cell could be illegally sold or used to create a new human being. On the other side were victims of various diseases - including Parkinson's disease and juvenile diabetes - who feared Beard's bill would shut the door on promising research. Rep. Jim Tucker, R-Terrytown, expressed concern about denying possible cures to such victims. And he discounted concerns that the Legislature could stop human cloning. "If there's a Dr. Frankenstein out there who wants to clone someone, they're going to do it regardless of whatever law we pass," he said. Rep. Charlie DeWitt, D-Alexandria, argued for LaFleur's amendment. He poked fun at himself and a colleague as he drew a distinction between creating a cloned embryo for research and duplicating a human being. "We're not talking about making another Charlie DeWitt," DeWitt said. "We're surely not talking about another Peppi Bruneau - nobody would let that happen." SOURCE: Sarasota Herald-Tribune, FL - May 10, 2004 http://tinyurl.com/2hwvr * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn