Pro-Life Official Hails Reintroduction of Genuine Cloning Ban
WASHINGTON (March 29, 2007) — The Pro-Life Secretariat of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) applauded Senators Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA) for reintroducing the "Human Cloning Prohibition Act" today.
Shortly before the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a similar bill in 2003, the bishops' Committee for Pro-Life Activities urged Congress to "ban this practice outright," adding: "Cloning dehumanizes human procreation, treating new human life as a mere laboratory product made to specifications. Whether used to bring cloned human embryos to live birth (so-called "reproductive" cloning), or to exploit them as sources of "spare parts" for other humans (so-called "therapeutic" cloning), human cloning diminishes us all. The allegedly lofty goals proposed for cloning cannot outweigh the grim reality of the activity itself."
"The Human Cloning Prohibition Act has clear precedent domestically and overseas," said Deirdre A. McQuade, Director of Planning and Information for the Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities. "Five states and over 20 countries have similar complete bans on cloning. The United Nations has urged its member nations to enact such bans to preserve human dignity and protect women's health."
Ms. McQuade added: "The cloning agenda poses a tremendous risk to women, as it would require exploiting countless women as egg factories. Women have died from the hormonal manipulation required for egg extraction. Others have become seriously ill or lost their natural fertility at a young age."
"We urge other senators to support and co-sponsor this vital legislation to protect women as well as embryonic humans from exploitation," Ms. McQuade said.