Senator Reynolds Authors Bill to Ban Human Cloning

Senator Jim Reynolds has authored a bill to ban both therapeutic and reproductive human cloning in Oklahoma. Far from representing opportunities for advances in science and medicine, Senator Reynolds said cloning represents an erosion of the sanctity of life.

I say this for a number of reasons. In therapeutic cloning, the process is to create life for experiments ultimately destroying the living embryo. We would never allow a couple to give birth in order for them to donate that new babys heart to another sibling. It is a horrible thing to contemplate, no matter at what stage of life the cells or organs are harvested, said Senator Reynolds.

Furthermore, while the primary purpose of therapeutic cloning at this point and time would be for the harvest of stem cells, the fact is scientists have not exhausted the possibility of obtaining these same types of cells from umbilical chords or from adult cells, explained Reynolds.

As for reproductive cloning, Senator Reynolds says that too raises a host of medical and ethical problems. Thats why it would also be banned under Senate Bill 1552.

A lot of the public may not realize that before they were able to successfully clone large mammals like sheep there were many, many failed attempts, resulting in horribly deformed creatures. That would likely happen with attempts to clone humans as well, said Senator Reynolds.

And while there are some parents who might want to clone another child they had lost, the fact is they would not be recreating that lost child. This would be an entirely different person, and likely would have an entirely different personality. Identical twins are genetically the same, but they are individuals. And to clone a human, you first must destroy an ovums nucleus to replace it with the nucleus of the cell you are attempting to clone. Its playing God with a human life, and thats wrong, said Reynolds.

We have made incredible advances in medicine in just the last few decades, but there are still many diseases we must find cures for. Still, I believe it is wrong to destroy new life in pursuit of these cures, especially when there are other options. I think most Oklahomans feel the same way.

SB 1552 has been assigned to the Senate Human Resources Committee. I strongly urge all Oklahomans concerned about this issue to contact the committee members and tell them they favor a ban on human cloning, said Reynolds.