Date of This Alert: July 22, 2001
Date of Anticipated House Vote: As early as July 31, 2001

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. House is expected to vote between July 30 and August 3 on H.R. 2505, a bill to prohibit the creation of human embryos by cloning.

Researchers already have cloned sheep, monkeys, and some other mammals, but so far there is no confirmed report of any researcher successfully using cloning to create human embryos. However, the urgent need for enactment of the Weldon-Stupak legislation was demonstrated by a report in the July 12 Washington Post that a major biotechnology firm, Advanced Cell Technology of Worcester, Massachusetts, already has a project underway to mass-produce human embryos by cloning, in order to use them in medical experimentation that will kill them. The head of the firm told the Wall Street Journal (July 13) that actual human cloning will begin "soon." It is believed that other firms are engaged in similar efforts.

The House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on Tuesday, July 24, on the Human Cloning Prohibition Act (H.R. 2505, successor to H.R. 1644), sponsored by pro-life Reps. Dave Weldon (R-Fl.) and Bart Stupak (D-Mi.). This bill, which is supported by NRLC and many other organizations, would prohibit the use of cloning to create any human beings, including human embryos. The Bush Administration has endorsed such a ban.

The Weldon-Stupak bill faces intense opposition from the powerful Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), which represents biotechnology corporations that wish to use cloning to mass-produce human embryos in order to harvest their stem cells for medical research or to subject them to other lethal manipulations. The biotechnology firms refer to this practice as "therapeutic cloning" or "research cloning," but pro-life groups call it "clone and kill."

A June, 2001 International Communications Research poll found that 86% of Americans said "no" when asked, "Should scientists be allowed to create a supply of human embryos to be destroyed in medical research?"

The "clone and kill" approach is embodied in a bill (H.R. 2172) authored by Congressman Jim Greenwood (R-Pa.). The Greenwood bill would ALLOW mass production of cloned human embryos, but would also REQUIRE each cloned embryo to be killed (by seeking to block implantation of any such embryo in a woman's womb).

A close vote is expected in the Judiciary Committee on July 24, but it appears that the committee will reject the clone-and-kill approach and approve H.R. 2505. If so, the House Republican leadership may schedule H.R. 2505 for action on the House floor during the week of July 30 -- which is the final week before a month-long congressional recess. On the House floor, Rep. Greenwood will seek to offer his "clone and kill" (or "human embryo farm") measure as a "substitute amendment" -- that is, as a replacement for the Weldon-Stupak bill. The critical roll call vote will be on the Greenwood substitute.

ALL House members -- regardless of their position on abortion -- must IMMEDIATELY be contacted by as many constituents as possible. Do not assume that a House member will vote for the Weldon-Stupak bill simply because that lawmaker has an anti-abortion voting record, because some anti-abortion lawmakers may be swayed by the argument that the bill would interfere with "medical research." Others might be fooled by the efforts of Rep. Greenwood and bio-tech lobbyists to "sell" the Greenwood bill as a "ban on cloning of human beings" (or as a "ban on reproductive cloning"). By these misleading terms, they merely mean that the Greenwood bill would seek to prevent any cloned human from actually being born -- but the bill would accomplish this by requiring that every cloned human embryo must be killed! Also, do not assume that all pro-abortion House members will oppose the Weldon-Stupak bill. A complete ban on cloning of human embryos has been endorsed by various organizational and individual supporters of legal abortion, including the United Methodist Church, feminist health writer Judy Norsigian, and the Council for Responsible Genetics.

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED

*** Please generate PHONE CALLS to each U.S. House member -- regardless of his or her position on abortion. The number of the U.S. Capitol Switchboard is (202) 225-3121. It is also very helpful to place calls to the LOCAL office(s) of U.S. House members. The basic message: "Support the Weldon-Stupak bill, H.R. 2505, to prohibit the creation of human embryos by cloning. Oppose the clone-and-kill substitute proposal that will be offered by Congressman Jim Greenwood. A vote for the Greenwood substitute is a vote to allow 'human embryo farms' or 'embryo production lines', which would mass-produce human embryos for the sole purpose of destroying them in medical experimentation."

A NOTE ON E-MAIL: When e-mail is used to write to a lawmaker, the writer's regular mailing address must be included in the e-mail. Otherwise, the lawmaker's staff has no way of knowing whether the e-mail actually comes from a constituent or an organization representing constituents. For E-mail to Representatives, you may use www.house.gov/writerep.

*** Send a letter of 250-300 words to the letters column of your local newspaper(s), encouraging citizens to contact their U.S. House members to urge support for the Weldon-Stupak bill (H.R. 2505) to ban the cloning of human embryos, in order to prevent the beginning of "human embryo farms."

*** Please assist NRLC's lobbying efforts by reporting any response from a lawmaker's office, and any local press report about a lawmaker's position, to the NRLC Federal Legislative Office at 202-626-8820, fax 202-347-3668, e-mail: Legfederal@aol.com.

To read the text of the Weldon-Stupak bill, H.R. 2505, or the Greenwood clone-and-kill bill, H.R. 2172, go to the "Thomas" congressional website at thomas.loc.gov.

VSHL is the Virginia affiliate of the National Right to Life Committee.