LAWS OF SCIENCE Should Congress ban cloning through legislation? February 24, 1998

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Questions asked in this forum: How did you receive the news of Dr. Wilmut's success? Are any experiments with human clones are acceptable? Is cloning legislation necessary? Will cloning legislation be effective? Can legislation be flexible? Which legislative proposals do you support? Viewer comments. NewsHour Backgrounders January 8, 1998 Dr. Richard Seed announced he will go ahead with human cloning experiments. December 29, 1997 A year-end report on remarkable changes in reproductive technology. March 5, 1997 First a sheep was cloned, then a monkey, but if President Clinton has his way a human isn't next. February 24, 1997: Elizabeth Farnsworth leads a discussion of the science that lead to Dolly, the Scottish sheep cloned from another. February 24, 1997: Jim Lehrer discusses the ethics of cloning with a panel of bioethicists. February 24, 1997: A NewsHour background report on Dolly and cloning. Browse the NewsHour's coverage of science OUTSIDE LINKS: Roslin Institute, Edinburgh, Scotland report on cloning sheep. The Genetics and Public Issues Program at The National Center for Genome Resources (NCGR) discusses cloning. Discussion of Ethics and Social Issues in Gene Research at the Human Genome Project. University of Pennsylvania Center for Bioethics

The Online NewsHour asks: President Clinton has banned federally-funded cloning experiments, and the Food and Drug Administration had said it already has the legal authority to ban cloning experiments. Why is additional legislation necessary? Sen. Dianne Feinstein responds: I believe Congress has a role and responsibility to draft prudent and judicious legislation that bans the cloning of human beings. President Clinton's federal funding ban, needless to say, does not apply to privately funded experiments. The FDA's ban, while welcome, may not be sufficient. The FDA can process certain applications, but they cannot ban a procedure. Furthermore, absent Congressional action to settle this matter, FDA regulations can change. Finally, the FDA has told me that they believe that federal legislation is appropriate. Prof. Alta Charo responds: If FDA exerts its authority by way of its jurisdiction over biologics, then additional legislation may not be necessary. The NBAC [the National Bioethics Advisory Committee] recommendations for legislation that temporarily banned cloning were premised on (1) the perception that FDA's authority did not easily extend this far; and (2) the belief that the private sector, which operates beyond the effects of restrictions on federal funding, needed to be brought within the ambit of the moratorium. Sen. Kit Bond responds: The trouble with administration regulation is that it can change quickly, particularly if there is a change is administration, or even in personnel administering an agency. I believe this is an issue that is important enough for the elected representatives of the American people to weigh in on. We need an act of Congress prohibiting human cloning, not just regulation. Next questions...

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