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Certain types of cloning may be banned in Wisconsin

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Related stories:

• United Nations discusses human-cloning bans; bans would pose no threat to UW research (November 6, 2003)
• Credibility of cloning claim questioned (April 10, 2002)
• President decries human cloning (November 27, 2001)
• State Senate approves cloning ban (September 29, 2005)
• Doyle vetoes human cloning ban (November 4, 2005)

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Human cloning could be banned in Wisconsin if one of three proposed bills passes in the legislature. The bills would all ban human cloning but take separate stances on medical and research cloning, including stem-cell research done at UW-Madison.

Most people, including President Bush, are opposed to human cloning but the distinction between reproductive and therapeutic cloning is important. Reproductive cloning is when a human clone is created for the sole purpose of making a human. Therapeutic cloning is when an embryo is cloned with the intent to extract stem cells and using the cells for research or medical treatment.

For medical purposes, creating an embryo that is a clone of a patient and then using the embryo as a source of stem cells would guarantee tissue would not be rejected. This means therapeutic cloning may have the potential to treat life-threatening diseases such as cancer, transplants, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, but opponents say an embryo created for stem cells is a human life and should not be destroyed. In order to survive, the embryo would have to be implanted into a woman’s uterus but doing so would create a human clone.

A human has never been cloned but several animals have been cloned. Earlier this fall, scientists were able to create a human embryo clone to provide stem cells that were used in research. UW was the first to extract stem cells from an embryo.

Under a bill introduced by Sen. Mark Meyer, D-La Crosse, UW would be allowed to continue embryonic stem-cell research but cloning for reproductive purposes would be prohibited.

Bryan Brooks, Meyer’s spokesman said stem cell research is close to finding cures for diseases.

“We are on the cutting edge of finding cures for many horrible diseases like cancer and Parkinson’s disease,” Brooks said. “This is our best opportunity to move forward; we have reached this point several times and we have always moved forward.”

Another bill proposed by Rep. Steve Kestell, R-Elkhart Lake, would ban all forms of cloning including therapeutics. Although the bill does not specifically address embryonic stem-cell research, a spokesman for Kestell said it would not ban all forms of research. The bill would prohibit embryonic stem cell research but would allow adult and umbilical research to continue.

Group such as Pro-Life Wisconsin and Wisconsin Right to Life say therapeutic cloning creates a new human life that has to be destroyed. Sue Armacost, legislative director for Wisconsin Right to Life, said Meyer’s bill leaves human embryos to be killed.

“This bill allows embryos to be created and used as long as they are dumped before they are implanted in a woman’s womb,” Armacost said.

She also said she believes there is a lot of potential to find cures through therapeutic cloning and the research would bring in a lot of money to the university, but she said that UW is not interested in helping people.

“I know they would like to find cures and help people,” Armacost said. “But the money is more important (to them) than helping people.”

Armacost said Wisconsin Right to Life is supportive of a third piece of legislation dubbed the “human embryo protection act.” The bill, which has not yet been introduced by Rep. Stephen Freese, R-Dodgeville, would specifically ban all forms of cloning and embryonic stem cell research.