[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 80 (Tuesday, June 10, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H3638]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  CLONING PROHIBITION ACT OF 1997--MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE 
                   UNITED STATES (H. DOC. NO. 105-97)

  The SPEAKER pro tempore laid before the House the following message 
from the President of the United States; which was read and, together 
with the accompanying papers, without objection, 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 Commission'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 or 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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