http://www.lifenews.com/state49.html
Arkansas Human Cloning Ban Goes Into Effect
by Maria Gallagher
LifeNews.com Staff Writer
July 18, 2003
Little Rock, AR (LifeNews.com) -- Arkansas has joined the list of states that have opted to ban human cloning.
[[Among the growing list of states that assume that they have passed, or are in the process of passing, "bans" on human cloning are: Wisconsin, California, Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New York, N. Dakota, South Carolina, and now Arkansas. As with most of these "bans", this Arkansas "ban" is patterned after the federal Weldon/Brownback cloning "ban", as noted on the National Right To Life web site:
For immediate release: Monday, March 24, 2003, 8 a.m. ET
For further information: Douglas Johnson, Legislative Director
(202) 626-8820 Legfederal@aol.com, www.nrlc.org
After overwhelming votes in Arkansas legislature, Governor Huckabee today will sign complete ban on human cloning; big votes put spotlight on Senators Blanche Lincoln, Mark Pryor
Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee (R) today will sign a complete ban on human cloning, patterned after the Brownback-Landrieu bill that is currently under consideration in the U.S. Senate.
The Arkansas bill, SB 185, passed the state House 88-5 and the state Senate 34-0. The House rejected an amendment to permit human cloning for research. Governor Huckabee s office has announced that he will sign the bill today at 2 p.m. local time (3 p.m. Eastern Time).
In the U.S. Senate, there is currently a struggle underway between two diametrically conflicting bills dealing with human cloning. The Brownback-Landrieu bill (S. 245), on which Arkansas bill SB 185 is based, would ban the creation of human embryos by cloning. The competing Hatch-Feinstein bill (S. 303) would permit and encourage the cloning of human embryos for biomedical research that would kill them. President Bush strongly supports the complete ban on human cloning for any purpose. - DNI]]
The ban, which goes into effect this week, outlaws producing a living organism at any stage of development that is genetically virtually identical to an existing or previously existing human organism.
[[As pointed out in previous analyses of these human cloning "bans", the use of the phrase "genetically virtually identical" would effectively result in the banning of NO human cloning by means of somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). The only type of human cloning this language might "ban" would be cloning by means of twinning. However, since "cloning" is defined in these bills only in terms of the somatic cell nuclear transfer cloning technique, then cloning by means of twinning or any other type of human cloning technique would not be banned. The effect, then, is that NO HUMAN CLONING WILL BE BANNED BY THE ARKANSAS HUMAN CLONING BILL OR SIMILARLY WRITTEN HUMAN CLONING BILLS.
As is well known now by everyone concerned with these bills, the immediate product of the real SCNT human cloning technique is not "genetically virtually identical to an existing or previously existing human organism." If a bill does not specifically articulate and define a particular technique then the bill does not apply to it. Therefore, the real SCNT human cloning technique would not be banned. Why? There are two reasons:
(a) the mitochondrial DNA (mDNA) of the donor cell is not transferred to the new cloned embryo; and,
(b) the mDNA of the enucleated oocyte used remains in the new cloned embryo.
Therefore, the genome of the new embryo is genetically different from the donor on these two counts, and thus is NOT "virtually identical to the genetic material of an existing or previously existing human organism." Therefore, the bill would not ban the real SCNT human cloning technique.
Key proponents of "total human cloning bans" have long acknowledged the serious problem concerning mDNA and the consequences of these scientific facts for the genetic identity of the real product of SCNT, the new living cloned human embryo:
1. WELDON S CONGRESSIONAL WEBSITE:
Click here: Science Section for Web Site:
http://www.house.gov/weldon/issues/clone_basics.htm
CLONING BASICS: 101
What Is Cloning?
Some tout "research cloning" as necessary for embryo stem cell research, because creating a stem cell based tissues from your own clone would not have the same tissue rejection problems as from tissues created from embryo stem cells with someone else's genetic makeup. This is fiction.
Rejection Problem: It is false to say that cloning solves the transplant rejection problem. Each embryo clone would still contain mitochondrial DNA from the egg donor; the clone is NOT an exact genetic copy of the nucleus donor, and its antigens would therefore provoke immune rejection when transplanted. There would still be the problem of immunological rejection that cloning is said to be indispensable for solving.
2. WELDON S "CLONING FACTS" ON NRTL WEBSITE (as of July 20, 2003):
Click here: Congressman Weldon's Cloning Facts
http://www.nrlc.org/Killing_Embryos/Weldoncloningfacts022603.html
Human Cloning Facts Courtesy Of The Office Of
Congressman Dave Weldon, M.D.
Will therapeutic cloning solve immune rejection problems?
No.
Though some proponents of cloning claim normal embryo stem cells will suffer immune rejection problems, embryo stem cell researchers disagree: "[John] Gearhart [of Johns Hopkins University] also says that many scientists 'feel there are ways of getting around [the rejection problem] without the nuclear transfer paradigm.' " Constance Holden, "Would cloning ban affect stem cells?", Science 293, 1025; Aug 10, 2001.
Speaking to the President s Council on Bioethics Dr. Irving Weissman explained, "I should say that when you put the nucleus in from a somatic cell, the mitochondria still come from the host." [from the female egg]
"And in mouse studies it is clear that those genetic differences can lead to a mild but certainly effective transplant rejection and so immunosuppression, mild though it is, will be required for that."
3. SUPPLIED BY WELDON S OFFICE TO TRADITIONAL VALUES ORGANIZATION [QUOTING IRVING WEISSMAN]:
http://www.traditionalvalues.org/pdf_files/Human_Cloning.pdf
Traditional Values Special Report / P.O. Box 940 / Anaheim, CA 92815 / (714) 520-0300 / 139 C Street SE, Washington, DC 20003 / (202) 547-8570 www.traditionalvalues.org; email: tvcwashdc@traditionalvalues.org
Human Cloning Facts Courtesy Of Congressman Dave Weldon, M.D.
This fact sheet has been reprinted by TVC with the permission of Rep. Weldon's office. For more information on cloning, go to: http://www.house.gov/weldon/issues.
Will therapeutic cloning solve immune rejection problems? No. Though some proponents of cloning claim normal embryo stem cells will suffer immune rejection problems, embryo stem cell researchers disagree: "[John] Gearhart [of Johns Hopkins University] also says that many scientists 'feel there are ways of getting around [the rejection problem] without the nuclear transfer paradigm.'"
Constance Holden, "Would cloning ban affect stem cells?", Science 293, 1025; Aug 10, 2001. Speaking to the President's Council on Bioethics Dr. Irving Weissman explained, "I should say that when you put the nucleus in from a somatic cell, the mitochondria still come from the host." [from the female egg]. "And in mouse studies it is clear that those genetic differences can lead to a mild but certainly effective transplant rejection and so immunosuppression, mild though it is, will be required for that." (page 4)
4. TRANSCRIPT OF HOUSE HEARING INTRODUCING WELDON BILL:
H.R. 1644, Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2001, and H.R._____, Cloning
Prohibition Act of 2001
Subcommittee on Health
June 20, 2001
10:15 AM
2123 Rayburn House Office Building
[107th Congress House Hearings]
THE HUMAN CLONING PROHIBITION ACT OF 2001 AND THE CLONING PROHIBITION ACT OF 2001 HEARING before the SUBCOMMITTEE ON HEALTH of the COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED SEVENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION on H.R. 1644 and H.R. 2172 (JUNE 20, 2001)
CLIFF STEARNS, Florida: At least seven States have bans to prohibit transferring the nuclei from a human cell and a human egg. But that doesn't address the possibility of transferring a human nucleus into a non-human egg. But that is not the only loophole. Seven States' proposals ban the creation of genetically identical individuals, but that leaves another loophole. An egg cell, donated for cloning, has its own mytochondrial DNA, which is different from the mytochondrial DNA of the cell that provided the nucleus. The clone will, therefore, not truly be identical.
5. BROWNBACK ARTICLE IN NATIONAL REVIEW: http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-brownback022603.asp
February 26, 2003, 9:00 a.m.
A True, Complete Ban
Congress needs to prohibit all human cloning, now.
By Senator Sam Brownback
This week, the House of Representatives is expected to pass the Weldon-Stupak bill -- a comprehensive ban on all human cloning. In the Senate, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D., La.) and I have introduced similar legislation -- the bipartisan Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2003 (S. 245), along with 21 other senators. So-called "therapeutic" cloning is the process by which an embryo is specially created for the directly intended purpose of subsequently killing it for its parts or for research purposes. Some proponents of human cloning claim that an embryo created in this manner will have cells that are a genetic match to the patient being cloned, and thus would not be rejected by the patient's immune system. This claim is overstated at best; in fact there are some scientific reports that show the presence of mitochondrial DNA in the donor egg can trigger an immune-response rejection in the patient being treated.
6. PRESIDENT BUSH S COUNCIL ON BIOETHICS:
http://www.bioethics.gov/reports/cloningreport/background.html
HUMAN CLONING AND HUMAN DIGNITY:
AN ETHICAL INQUIRY TABLE OF CONTENTS
The President's Council on Bioethics
Washington, D.C.
July 2002
http://www.bioethics.gov
http://www.bioethics.gov/reports/cloningreport/execsummary.html
Executive Summary
Fair and Accurate Terminology
Cloning: A form of reproduction in which offspring result not from the chance union of egg and sperm (sexual reproduction) but from the deliberate replication of the genetic makeup of another single individual (asexual reproduction).
Human cloning: The asexual production of a new human organism that is, at all stages of development, genetically virtually identical to a currently existing or previously existing human being. It would be accomplished by introducing the nuclear material of a human somatic cell (donor) into an oocyte (egg) whose own nucleus has been removed or inactivated, yielding a product that has a human genetic constitution virtually identical to the donor of the somatic cell. (This procedure is known as "somatic cell nuclear transfer," or SCNT). We have declined to use the terms "reproductive cloning" and "therapeutic cloning." We have chosen instead to use the following designations:
Scientific Background
The technique of cloning. The following steps have been used to produce live offspring in the mammalian species that have been successfully cloned. Obtain an egg cell from a female of a mammalian species. Remove its nuclear DNA, to produce an enucleated egg. Insert the nucleus of a donor adult cell into the enucleated egg, to produce a reconstructed egg. Activate the reconstructed egg with chemicals or electric current, to stimulate it to commence cell division. Sustain development of the cloned embryo to a suitable stage in vitro, and then transfer it to the uterus of a female host that has been suitably prepared to receive it. Bring to live birth a cloned animal that is genetically virtually identical (except for the mitochondrial DNA) to the animal that donated the adult cell nucleus.
SOME BASIC FACTS ABOUT HUMAN CELL BIOLOGY AND SEXUAL REPRODUCTION
Not quite all the DNA of a human cell resides in its nucleus. All human cells, including eggs and sperm, contain small, energy-producing organelles called mitochondria. Mitochondria contain a small piece of DNA that specifies the genetic instructions for making several essential mitochondrial proteins. When additional mitochondria are produced in the cell, the mitochondrial DNA is replicated, and a copy of it is passed along to the new mitochondria that are formed. During fertilization, sperm mitochondria are selectively degraded inside the zygote. Thus, the developing embryo inherits solely or principally mitochondria (and mitochondrial DNA) from the egg.
7. LEON KASS - CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT S COUNCIL ON BIOETHICS:
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22mitochondrial+DNA%22+%22human%22+%22cloning%22+%22Weldon%22&as_q=%22rejection%22&btnG=Search%A0within%A0results
Averting a Catastrophe
"'Human beings should not be cloned to stock a medical junkyard of spare parts for medical experimentation,' said House majority whip Tom DeLay, Republican of Texas. Cloning, even for research purposes alone, is 'no better than medical strip mining. The preservation of life is what's being lost here,' DeLay said on the House floor."
August 1 Boston Globe
"The chronically ill, desperate for help, are easy marks for grand promises of imminent cure. In earlier times, many a quack or preacher took advantage of their gullibility. Today they still are being exploited, only the cures are being promised by biotech entrepreneurs. The latest panacea is a fiction called 'therapeutic cloning,' now being peddled in Congress to sabotage an urgently needed legislative ban on cloning human beings."
Ethicist Leon Kass, July 31 Chicago Tribune
Putting it in first-person terms, the idea (as Leon Kass explains) is to harvest an unfertilized ovum from a woman and remove the nucleus. The nucleus from one of my adult cells is inserted as a replacement. An embryo clone is then grown, the embryo's stem cells removed, and, in theory, programmed to produce whatever it is (say, heart muscle cells) that I need.
But questions of ethics aside, this is abysmal science. As Kass points out, "Before one starts arguing the morality of embryo farming, we should know that the whole matter is science fiction. The egg containing my nucleus is not fully my genetic twin. It also contains residual DNA -- mitochondrial DNA -- from the woman who donated the egg. The cloned embryo and all cells derived from it remain partly 'foreign,' enough to cause transplant rejection. The transplantation-rejection problem that is supposedly solvable only by cloning cannot be solved by cloning -- except in the unusual case where a (pre-menopausal) female patient donates both nucleus and egg."
Leon Kass - Chairman, President s Council on Bioethics:
http://www.ppl.org/ShortNewsItems.html
Presbyterians Pro-Life
Posted 8/6/01
The Hoax of Therapeutic Cloning
By Leon R. Kass
(Pro-Life Infonet Note: Leon R. Kass is a physician and professor on the Committee of Social Thought at the University of Chicago and co-author of "The Ethics of Human Cloning.")
Before one starts arguing the morality of embryo farming, we should know that the whole matter is science fiction. The egg containing my nucleus is not fully my genetic twin. It also contains residual DNA -- mitochondrial DNA -- from the woman who donated the egg. The cloned embryo and all cells derived from it remain partly "foreign," enough to cause transplant rejection. The transplantation-rejection problem that is supposedly solvable only by cloning cannot be solved by cloning -- except in the unusual case where a (pre-menopausal) female patient donates both nucleus and egg. (Even without this problem, the whole idea is preposterous: where would we get enough eggs to provide each of us with our own embryonic twin for strip mining?)
8. GEORGE ANNAS (BIOETHICS LAWYER):
http://www.gardacuore.net/rigenerativa/ARTICOLI/NEJM_Issues.htm
The New England Journal of Medicine Volume 346:1576-1579 May 16, 2002 Stem Cells Scientific, Medical, and Political Issues
How could such stem-cell lines be generated? One way is by transferring somatic-cell nuclei into enucleated eggs (nuclear transplantation). When stimulated to divide, the cell can form blastocysts of predefined nuclear genotype (with the mitochondrial DNA coming from the egg). Cells from the inner cell mass of these blastocysts can be isolated, cultured, and used to generate embryonic stem-cell lines of predefined genotype.
9. BRITISH HOUSE OF LORDS, TESTIMONY (mitochondrial DNA):
http://www.epolitix.com/data/companies/images/Companies/care/resp/8.htm
STEM CELL RESEARCH
Evidence presented to the House of Lords Select Committee -- June 2001
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1.4.5 The effects of mitochondrial DNA from the egg used to create the embryo may also affect the stem cells in unexpected ways. An additional consideration is the research into treatment where stem cells are taken from an embryo created by mitochondrial replacement in another egg. A number of children have been born using this technique and have been shown to have three genetic parents and it appears that the health outcomes for these children are far from clear. Children having three genetic parents raise important ethical considerations.
Furthermore, attempts are made to claim that SCNT is the only technique that can be used to clone human beings. But the fact is that there are many techniques that can be used to clone human beings other than somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), e.g., germ line cell nuclear transfer (GLCNT), pronuclei transfer, twinning (blastomere separation and blastocyst splitting), etc. None of these other human cloning techniques are articulated in the Arkansas bill or in any of these cloning "bans", thus these bills will not apply to these other human cloning techniques (and thus they may be used to clone human beings). That twinning and other techniques constitute genuine but different types of human cloning techniques is also a well-established scientific fact:
1. NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH, Office of Science Planning and Policy, "CLONING: Present Uses and Promises" (April 27, 1998) [http://www1.od.nih.gov/osp/ospp/scipol/cloning.htm]:
"Cloning and somatic cell nuclear transfer are not synonymous. Cloning is the production of a precise genetic copy of DNA, a cell, or an individual plant or animal. Cloning can be successfully accomplished by using a number of different technologies. Somatic cell nuclear transfer is one specific technology that can be used for cloning. It is important to note that the use of somatic cell nuclear transfer is not limited to cloning an organism; there are other potential applications for both research and medicine that are discussed in this paper."
2. NIH GUIDELINES FOR RESEARCH USING HUMAN PLURIPOTENT STEM CELLS: If these cells separate, genetically identical embryos result, the basis of identical twinning. (p. A-3)
3. GEORGE ANNAS, Human Cloning: A Choice or an Echo?, "II. Cloning and Imagination" (University of Dayton Law Review -- winter 1998 -- Vol. 23, Num. 2, Commentaries) (http://www.bumc.bu.edu/www/sph/lw/pvl/html3-variant.html): "Twinning by splitting an extracorporeal human embryo in two is the most rudimentary form of human cloning, and the closest to natural twins. The primary justification for embryo splitting has been to improve the efficiency of IVF, and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine ("ASRM") has justified research on embryo splitting as a possible way to improve the efficiency of IVF. ASRM's ethics committee cautions, however, that all twinned embryos should be implanted and gestated together to prevent the copy-original "delayed twin" problem that is at the center of the cloning debate."
4. AUSTRALIAN CLONING BILL: many cloning techniques, including twinning In Australian cloning document: (1) more than one type of cloning; (2) twinning is a type of cloning; (3) prohibits pronuclei transfer: http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/Parlib/Publications_pdfs/books/2001036.pdf
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