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WASHINGTON (January 9, 2003) -- An official of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) called on Congress to pass the Human Cloning Prohibition Act (H.R. 234) and send it to President Bush for his signature.
H.R. 234, widely considered one of the most important legislative initiatives of this Congress, was introduced (January 8) by Congressmen Dave Weldon (R-FL) and Bart Stupak (D-MI). They were joined by colleagues of all party affiliations—Republicans, Democrats, and Independents.
Citing the urgency of the proposed legislation, Cathleen Cleaver, Esq., spokesperson for the USCCB Pro-Life Secretariat, said: "Unless Congress acts soon, maverick cloning groups such as the Raelians can pursue their bizarre goals in our country."
Without a ban on all human cloning, cloning "for research" will also ensue, Ms. Cleaver continued. "Human cloning for research is equally objectionable," she said. "Irresponsible researchers in Massachusetts, California and elsewhere intend to mass-produce human clones as a source of research material."
The Raelian project is widely condemned as irresponsible, in part because 95% of their attempts will be unsuccessful -- meaning that cloned children will die before birth or suffer severe deformity. "Some proposals from the research cloning camp include allowing the clone to grow for many weeks before being killed. The irony here is that cloning for research requires a 100% prenatal death rate."
The impact of cloning on women must also be considered: "To make human cloning for research possible, women will have to provide massive numbers of eggs by an extraction process that is painful and raises health risks. Making women egg-factories for this research is an utterly demeaning proposition."
"The truth is that human cloning for any purpose is inherently dehumanizing and should be banned," the USCCB official stated.
As soon as possible, she said, Congress should pass H.R. 234 and send it to President Bush for his signature.