Washington

Republicans in the US Congress have proposed two far-reaching bills that would outlaw the cloning of human cells, regardless of whether they were to be used in research or reproduction.

Brownback: sees no need for the technique.

Senator Sam Brownback (Republican, Kansas) and Representative Dave Weldon (Republican, Florida) introduced the Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2001 on 26 April. It bans both publicly and privately funded human cloning based on somatic-cell nuclear transfer, the technique used to produce Dolly the sheep. It also bans importation of any “product of human cloning for any purpose”.

Those breaking the law would face a fine of at least $1 million, a prison sentence of up to 10 years, or both. Another bill, introduced on the same day by Vernon Ehlers (Republican, Michigan), one of a handful of scientists in the Congress, also criminalizes human cloning for any purpose.

Scientists hope that cloned embryos might serve as a source of stem cells for treating a range of diseases, including diabetes and Parkinson's. But harvesting the cells means destroying the embryo, which has generated objections from opponents of abortion.

In theory, the embryos could also be used to generate a cloned human being. Already a team of infertility doctors and a cult called the Raelians have announced that they will attempt to produce cloned human beings in the near future (see Nature 410, 617; 2001).

“There is no need for this technology to ever be used with humans — whether for reproductive purposes or for destructive research purposes,” Brownback said in introducing his bill.

Anti-abortion groups have embraced the bill. But scientists are responding with concern. It “unnecessarily limits important medical research”, says Elizabeth Marincola, the executive director of the American Society for Cell Biology. “Such a sweeping bill is not necessary” to protect against cloning a human being, she says.

The extent to which cloning should be outlawed is dividing Republicans in the Congress. Moderate Republicans are expected to back a more narrowly written bill that would preserve the cloning of embryos for research.