Daschle Playing God by Delaying Human Cloning Vote, Says American Life League

6/17/2002

From: Erik Whittington or John Roney, 540-659-4171 both of American Life League e-mail: ewhittington@all.org, jroney@all.org

WASHINGTON, June 17 -- "The longer Senator Daschle delays the vote to ban human cloning, the greater he makes a mockery out of human life," said American Life League president Judie Brown. "Without a total ban on human cloning, thousands of human embryos could be cloned and then killed in the name of science. These lives are at the mercy of Daschle, who refuses to allow a debate on the Senate floor."

Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) has apparently made numerous promises to allow the Senate to debate and then vote on a human cloning ban. One cloning bill, sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstien (D-Calif.) and others, would only ban the implantation of a cloned human. It would remain legal to clone human embryos, whose lives would then be destroyed for medical research. A second bill, proposed by Sens. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) and Mary Landrieu (D-La.), would ban all human cloning conducted through the somatic cell nuclear transfer process.

"While the Brownback/Landrieu bill does not represent a total ban on all methods of human cloning, it at least prohibits this one method. It also prohibits deadly research on living human embryos whose lives begin through the somatic cell nuclear transfer process," said Brown.

"Daschle's delay is appalling," said Brown. "Most Americans, including President Bush and a bipartisan majority in the House, support a ban on human cloning. Bring the bill to the Senate floor and let the debate begin."

------ American Life League is the nation's largest pro-life educational organization with more than 375,000 supporting families. http://www.all.org