CLINTON PROPOSES CLONING BAN

June 9, 1997

WASHINGTON (Reuter) - President Clinton Monday proposed a five-year ban on cloning a human being, saying it was morally unacceptable and could undermine society's respect for human life.

Announcing the proposal at the White House, Clinton said the legislation would not prohibit the cloning of human DNA or of animals, arguing this did not pose the same moral questions and could lead to great medical and agricultural advances.

In proposing the law, Clinton accepted the findings of an ethics commission which he asked to review the legal and ethical ramifications of cloning after scientists in Scotland reported in February they had cloned a lamb -- which they named Dolly -- from a single cell taken from an adult sheep.

"One unanimous conclusion has emerged: attempting to clone a human being is unacceptably dangerous to the child and morally unacceptable to our society," Clinton said in a White House Rose Garden ceremony to announce the legislation.

"What the legislation will do is to reaffirm our most cherished beliefs about the miracle of human life and the God-given individuality each person posesses," he added.

"It will ensure that we do not fall prey to the temptation to replicate ourselves at the expense of those beliefs and the lives of the innocent children we would produce," he said.

Under the proposed legislation, which would have to be passed by the Republican- controlled Congress, cloning a human being would be prohibited for five years.

Violating the law could lead to fines of $250,000 or twice the gain or loss a scientist might make from the endeavor.

While the legislation is pending, Clinton said the ban on using federal funds to clone humans would remain in effect and he called on the private sector to voluntarily refrain from the technique, known as "somatic cell nuclear transfer."

If the bill were signed into law, the National Bioethics Advisory Commission, which is chaired by Princeton University President Harold Shapiro, would have to report 4 { years later on whether the overall ban should be continued.

The advisory commission of 18 scientists, lawyers and theologians sought to reconcile the views of opponents of cloning who regard it as an affront to nature and demand a complete ban, and supporters who see it as a stunning scientific breakthrough with promising medical repercussions.

Polls taken shortly after the announcement of the cloning of Dolly showed 90 percent of Americans opposed human cloning.

In his remarks, Clinton stressed the moral dangers of cloning children.

"Creating a child through this new method calls into question our most fundamental beliefs. It has the potential to threaten the sacred family bonds at the very core of our ideals and our society," he said. "At its worst, it could lead to misguided and malevolent attempts to select certain traits, even to create certain kind fo children -- to make our children objects rather than cherished individuals."

But he insisted that cloning human DNA and animals did not pose the same moral questions.

"There is nothing inherently immoral or wrong with these new techniques used for proper purposes... In fact they could hold the promise of revolutionary new medical treatments and life-saving cures to diseases like cystic fibrosis, diabetes and cancer, to better crops and stronger livestock," he said.