Bill Would Ban Cloning of Humans

Human cloning research and experiments would be banned in California for five years under a bill introduced Tuesday in the Senate.

The bill by Sen. Patrick Johnston, a moderate Democrat from Stockton and chairman of the Select Committee on Genetics and Public Policy, follows disclosures that a sheep was cloned in Scotland and that two rhesus monkey clones have been created at an Oregon primate center.

There is no evidence that the cloning of a human has occurred or that any experiments in human cloning are underway in California, but many scientists have said the rapid development of technology makes it only a matter of time. Cloning involves genetically replicating a living organism from a single cell or small cluster of cells.

The bill thrusts California into the national debate over the prospect of cloning humans, with Gov. Pete Wilson saying he wanted no part of a “knee-jerk action” that might threaten other valuable disease research.

Johnston said California is not prepared to deal with the unknown but potentially profound ramifications of selectively creating humans in a cloning lab.

“It is important that we use the time available to research the legal, moral and medical implications of human cloning,” Johnston said at a news conference.

He said he fears that technology might soon “outstrip” the ability of the governor and Legislature to adopt a rational public policy dealing with human cloning.

In Washington, the California proposal drew immediate opposition from the nation’s swiftly developing biotechnology industry. An industry spokesman called it premature, while noting that his national trade group, the Biotechnology Industry Organization, supports President Clinton’s 90-day moratorium.

“Let’s hold [California’s bill] in abeyance until we have the opportunity to discern what the implications are for both the benefits and the deficits of this kind of research,” said Carl Feldbaum, president of the 700-member trade group.

Clinton’s recent order banned use of any federal money for human cloning research until a federal advisory panel reports to him on a permanent policy. The president also asked for voluntary restraint on the part of researchers using private funds.

Johnston’s bill would go considerably further, making it illegal for anyone to clone a human being in California until at least Jan. 1, 2003. Violators would be subject to administrative fines ranging from $2,500 for first-time offenders to $100,000 for repeat violators.

“We need more information about [cloning] before we go willy-nilly into creating these new . . . classes or groups of people,” said Stanford University geneticist and bill supporter Paul Billings.

“We need to take a moment and step back and say, ‘What are the benefits of this? What risks are we placing to those individuals, to the families, to the population at large?’ ”

Billings said such issues need to be weighed against the potential benefits of cloning, such as improved health. “As you create the clone, you may be able to manipulate the genetic material in some way, which will, say, cure a disease or be involved in the cure of a disease,” he said.

Wilson, through spokesman Sean Walsh, said he will review the Johnston bill before deciding whether to support it. But, Walsh warned, “We want to make sure the state does not act in a knee-jerk action and impede important biotechnology research designed to combat cancer, AIDS and other diseases.”

Similarly, Feldbaum, of the biotechnology trade group, called for restraint. “Let’s at least abide by the president’s call for a moratorium to think through the implications of this before the Congress and state legislatures enact legislation that could inadvertently cut off lines of research . . . that could be enormously beneficial,” he said.

“I think legislatures should hold their fire for now.”

Feldbaum said genetic research involving human cells may lead, for example, to the regeneration of spinal cord tissue of paralyzed people, the regeneration of retinal tissue and development of “brain tissue to improve memory.”

“We all stand firm against the cloning of a complete adult human being,” he said.