[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

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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.