[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 162 (Wednesday, November 28, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H8428]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           BAN HUMAN CLONING

  (Mr. FORBES asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to voice my strong opposition 
to human cloning. The announcement over the weekend that an American 
company had cloned the first human life is a profoundly disturbing step 
toward a brave new world for which none of us are prepared.
  My father suffers from Parkinson's disease; and while I recognize the 
agony of so many Americans with devastating illnesses and injuries, I 
cannot countenance the creation and destruction of human life as a 
potential means to ease their suffering. There are other methods of 
scientific research using adult stem cells and umbilical cord blood 
that can lead to medical breakthroughs for Alzheimer's, spinal cord 
injury, and more. These alternatives promote the quality of human life 
without forsaking the value of human life in its most vulnerable form.
  Mr. Speaker, it is clear that science has overtaken the law in this 
instance. The House, in a strong bipartisan vote, has said we should 
not proceed down this path. The President has stated his opposition to 
human cloning. And in poll after poll, the American people 
overwhelmingly object to it as well. The other body must act, and act 
soon to ban human cloning.

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