Support from anti-abortion foe for stem cell research

[Guest guest]

Hi all,

This is in today's paper:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A9775-2002Apr30?language=printer

washingtonpost.com

Hatch to Support Bill Allowing Stem Cell Study

Decision on Embryo Cloning Is a Setback for Conservatives

By Rick Weiss

Washington Post Staff Writer

Wednesday, May 1, 2002; Page A02

The congressional debate over human cloning and embryo research took a

dramatic turn yesterday as Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, an opponent of abortion,

announced his support for a bill that would outlaw the creation of

cloned human babies but allow the cloning of human embryos for research.

The Utah Republican's decision, which he said he made after " countless

hours of study, reflection and, yes, prayer, " is a significant setback

for religious conservatives and others who favor an opposing bill now

before the Senate. That bill would ban all aspects of human cloning,

including the creation of cloned human embryos.

Opponents of embryo cloning say the research is inherently unethical,

potentially exploitive of the women who would donate eggs for the

research, and a dangerous move toward human

genetic engineering. Proponents say it would be unethical to criminalize

the production of cloned embryos because they appear to be ideal sources

of stem cells, which have the potential

to cure a host of diseases.

" I come to this issue with a strong pro-life and pro-family record, "

Hatch said at a Capitol Hill news briefing packed with scores of

advocates on both sides of the issue. " An important

aspect of being pro-life is to support the technologies that help the

living. "

Research supporters gave the senator a prolonged ovation; opponents

stood in stony silence. L. Connor, president of the Family

Research Council, later called Hatch's decision " absolutely morally

vacuous. "

Hatch was one of a handful of key undecided senators whom supporters of

the research have been trying to sway as the Senate prepares for a

high-profile floor debate on human cloning in the next few weeks. His

decision is the latest evidence of a remarkable turnaround for those who

support cloning research.

A few months ago the total cloning ban, introduced by Sens. Sam

Brownback (R-Kan.) and Landrieu (D-La.) and endorsed by President

Bush, was dominating the debate and

enjoyed the political advantage of having already been passed by the

House. In recent weeks, however, patient-advocacy groups, the

biotechnology industry, academics and other

supporters of the research have won a string of lobbying victories,

including a widely publicized letter of support from 40 Nobel laureates

and another from former president Gerald R.

Ford.

The issue has struck deeply emotional chords on both sides, forcing

elected officials to consider such profound questions as when life

begins and the embryo's moral status.

The debate has called into question the motivations of scientists, some

of whom have been accused of overstating the therapeutic promise of

embryo research while understating their

financial interests. At the same time, it has raised fears that the

fledgling field of regenerative medicine may be held hostage by what

scientists call a vocal anti-science minority.

On the legislative front, Hatch's decision leaves the future of cloning

regulation uncertain, with both sides of the debate evenly matched and

about a dozen senators undecided. There is no House version of the bill

he has decided to back. And the more far-reaching House bill is still

short of the votes needed to pass in the Senate.

Some Hill observers have said it is entirely possible that no cloning

bill will pass both houses of Congress this session. That would leave

unchanged the legality of human embryo cloning

with private funding. And five years after President Clinton called on

Congress to criminalize the cloning of human babies, it would leave the

nation without any such statutory ban.

Supporters of embryo cloning research had initially hoped that Hatch

would sign on to a research-friendly bill already introduced by Sen.

Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Sen. M. Kennedy (D-Mass.).

Yesterday, however, Feinstein, Kennedy, Hatch and others introduced new,

similar legislation with added provisions to help satisfy Hatch and

other fence-sitters.

The bill includes a new provision requiring all cloners of embryos to

first obtain approval of their research by a scientific and ethics

advisory board. Federal law currently requires such

oversight only if the work is federally funded.

The new bill also goes beyond previous language by outlawing not only

the transfer of cloned embryos to a woman's uterus, but also the

transfer of cloned embryos to any artificial womb. Although no one has

invented a functional artificial womb, some believe its creation is

inevitable, and critics had raised that possibility as a dangerous

loophole in the Kennedy-Feinstein bill.

Violators would be subject to $1 million in fines and 10 years in

prison.

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), who with Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) had

previously introduced similar legislation, also signed on to the new

bill yesterday. " We believe we have an excellent chance to prevail, "

Specter said.

Opponents yesterday vowed to fight.

" Subject only to paperwork requirements, this bill would allow biotech

labs to clone countless human embryos and then kill them for their

parts, or sacrifice them like lab rats in

experimentation, " said of the National Right to Life

Committee. " This bill will not become law. "

© 2002 The

Washington Post Company