HJR 11 -- HUMAN CLONING

SPONSOR:  Lembke

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Committee on Health
Care Policy by a vote of 5 to 0.

Upon voter approval, this proposed constitutional amendment
prohibits human cloning and authorizes the General Assembly to
enact laws regarding health care research.

FISCAL NOTE:  No impact on state funds in FY 2008, FY 2009, and
FY 2010.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that somatic cell nuclear transfer
(SCNT) is cloning, the product of cloning is an embryo, and the
embryo created by SCNT is human.  Embryonic stem cells can only
be harvested by killing the embryo.  The bill allows access to
cures, bans human cloning, and allows voters to change the
Missouri Constitution and decide if SCNT is valid for research.

Testifying for the bill were Representative Lembke; Franz Wippold
II, MD; Eric Claeys, JD; Missouri Farm Bureau; Missouri Catholic
Conference; Campaign Life Missouri; Chelsea Zimmerman;
Missourians Against Human Cloning; Concerned Women for America of
Missouri; Missouri Right to Life; Missouri Family Network;
Missouri Baptist Convention, Christian Life Commission; and
Missouri Eagle Forum.

OPPONENTS:  Those who oppose the bill say that there is a
difference between SCNT and human cloning.  The bill bans
research and takes away the opportunity for treatment and
research.  SCNT creates stem cells not babies.  Not all cloning
should be banned, just the cloning of human beings.  The
reproduction process and SCNT blastocysts are not the same.
Evidence shows that it is probably not possible to clone a human
with SCNT.

Testifying against the bill were Don Rubin, Bob Pund, Joe Rhea,
and Trenton Baier, Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures;
Steven Teidelbaum, MD; Pat Jackson, Juvenile Diabetes Research
Foundation; Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce; Missouri
Biotechnology Association; Mike Fredholm; Morgan Bearden,
Diabetes Education Fund; Allen Ladage; Bernard Frank; Mark
Egleton, Act to Care; and St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth
Association.

Missouri House of Representatives
94th General Assembly, 1st Regular Session
Last Updated July 25, 2007 at 11:21 am