[House Document 105-97]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



105th Congress, 1st Session  - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 105-97


 
   DRAFT LEGISLATION ENTITLED THE ``CLONING PROHIBITION ACT OF 1997''

                               __________

                                MESSAGE

                                  from

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              transmitting

  A DRAFT OF PROPOSED LEGISLATION TO PROHIBIT ANY ATTEMPT TO CREATE A 
HUMAN BEING USING SOMATIC CELL NUCLEAR TRANSFER, TO PROVIDE FOR FURTHER 
REVIEW OF THE ETHICAL AND SCIENTIFIC ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH THE USE OF 
 SOMATIC CELL NUCLEAR TRANSFER IN HUMAN BEINGS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
                                     




    June 10, 1997.--Message and accompanying papers referred to the 
            Committee on Commerce and ordered to be printed


To the Congress of the United States:
    I am pleased to transmit today for immediate consideration 
and prompt enactment the ``Cloning Prohibition Act of 1997.'' 
This legislative proposal would prohibit any attempt to create 
a human being using somatic cell nuclear transfer technology, 
the method that was used to create Dolly the sheep. This 
proposal will also provide for further review of the ethical 
and scientific issues associated with the use of somatic cell 
nuclear transfer in human beings.
    Following the February report that a sheep had been 
successfully cloned using a new technique, I requested my 
National Bioethics Advisory Commission to examine the ethical 
and legal implications of applying the same cloning technology 
to human beings. The Commission concluded that at this time 
``it is morally unacceptable for anyone in the public or 
private sector, whether in a research or clinical setting, to 
attempt to create a child using somatic cell nuclear transfer 
cloning'' and recommended that Federal legislation be enacted 
to prohibit such activities. I agree with the Committee's 
conclusion and am transmitting this legislative proposal to 
implement its recommendation.
    Various forms of cloning technology have been used for 
decades resulting in important biomedical and agricultural 
advances. Genes, cells, tissues, and even whole plants and 
animals have been cloned to develop new therapies for treating 
such disorders as cancer, diabetes, and cystic fibrosis. 
Cloning technology also holds promise for producing replacement 
skin, cartilage, or bone tissue for burn or accident victims, 
and nerve tissue to treat spinal cord injury. Therefore, 
nothing in the ``Cloning Prohibition Act of 1997'' restricts 
activities in other areas of biomedical and agricultural 
research that involve: (1) the use of somatic cell nuclear 
transfer or other cloning technologies to clone molecules, DNA, 
cells, and tissues; or (2) the use of somatic cell nuclear 
transfer techniques to create animals.
    The Commission recommended that such legislation provide 
for further review of the state of somatic cell nuclear 
transfer technology and the ethical and social issues attendant 
to its potential use to create human beings. My legislative 
proposal would implement this recommendation and assign 
responsibility for the review, to be completed in the fifth 
year after passage of the legislation, to the National 
Bioethics Advisory Commission.
    I urge the Congress to give this legislation prompt and 
favorable consideration.

                                                William J. Clinton.
    The White House, June 9, 1997.




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