    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book I)]
    [June 9, 1997]
    [Pages 711-712]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Message to the Congress Transmitting Proposed Human Cloning Prohibition
    Legislation
    June 9, 1997

    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

    [[Page 712]]

    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 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.