Despite widespread sentiment that human cloning should be banned, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle said Thursday the Senate is unlikely to pass legislation banning or restricting cloning this year.
Daschle (D-S.D.) said the odds against passing any sort of cloning legislation were “substantial,” after Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) walked away from negotiations Wednesday night over structuring debate on the Senate floor. Still, Brownback vowed to forge ahead.
Lawmakers from both parties say they strongly oppose reproductive cloning of human beings. But the unanimity of sentiment breaks down over whether to allow scientists to engage in so-called therapeutic cloning, which creates human embryos and develops stem cells to help find cures for cancer and other diseases.
The issue has taken on a greater urgency as scientists have succeeded in cloning a variety of animals, with some vowing to attempt to clone human beings, an idea opposed by the great majority of the scientific community. Brownback’s bill, which is supported by President Bush, would prohibit all forms of cloning, while a bill supported by Daschle and many Democrats would allow therapeutic cloning.
Daschle defends position
Daschle defended his decision to block Brownback’s bill, despite protests from conservatives and anti-abortion activists that anything less than a full ban is unethical. “[Brownback] wants to either stop for a period–or stop permanently–all research in cloning, and that isn’t something we can accept,” said Daschle.
As the dispute played out late Wednesday, Daschle, as the Senate’s floor leader, decided to require Brownback to come up with 60 votes for his proposal. Brownback said Daschle had rigged the debate process and refused to proceed.
The House voted overwhelmingly last summer to ban all forms of cloning. But the complicated and contentious issue has stymied the Senate.
Brownback and his co-sponsor, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), promised to offer an amendment–possibly a two-year moratorium on all cloning work–on whatever bills reach the Senate floor.
But Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), chairman of the Health, Education and Labor Committee, said he is prepared for whatever tactic Brownback employs. “If he brings it up, there will be a response,” said Kennedy.
Patients’ groups and other opponents of a ban on therapeutic cloning said they believed they were on the verge of defeating Brownback and were disappointed that the Senate did not debate the matter.
“It’s bittersweet at the moment,” said Michael Manganiello, president of the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research. “This is not over until the 107th Congress is over.”
Pioneering stem cell researcher Dr. Ira Black, of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, was less equivocal, applauding Daschle’s position.
“The Senate action constitutes a balanced, reasoned position that ultimately will be of immense benefit to patients suffering from a variety of diseases,” Black said.
“Without question, our ability to proceed in studying embryonic stem cells, as well as more mature adult stem cells, will absolutely invigorate the research effort and allow us to make progress in the most expeditious fashion,” he added. “It would be very difficult to maintain the kind of momentum and velocity we now have if an entire area of inquiry is foreclosed.”
On the other side of the debate, Douglas Johnson, the legislative director of the National Right to Life Committee, criticized Daschle for using “procedural gimmicks” to stop a cloning ban from going into effect.
“Sen. Daschle and most Senate Democrats have once again blocked the only bill that would really ban human cloning and human embryo farms,” he said.
Daschle, however, said a majority of senators would not agree to any legislation that would hurt scientists.
Brownback argues case
“You can’t abolish the research,” Daschle said. “You can’t end the research. That research is going to happen. And I think it’s important for us to draw the distinction between human and therapeutic cloning.”
Brownback, though, predicted that if allowed, scientists would quickly move into research that would make most people uncomfortable.
“You will see in the very near future people coming forward saying they’ve cloned a human being,” he predicted.
When it comes, he added, he hopes that shocking news will tip the balance with senators who have still not decided where they stand on the issue.
If no legislation is passed, privately funded therapeutic cloning research would benefit, said Dr. Arthur Caplan, director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania. Stem cell researchers at such companies as Advanced Cell Technology in Massachusetts and Geron Corp. in California are doing that sort of work.
