WASHINGTON, D.C., JAN. 12, 2003 (Zenit.org).- Warning that women could become “egg-factories,” a representative for the U.S. bishops’ conference called on Congress to pass the Human Cloning Prohibition Act.
The legislation was introduced Jan. 8 by Representatives Dave Weldon, a Florida Republican, and Bart Stupak, a Michigan Democrat.
“Unless Congress acts soon, maverick cloning groups such as the Raelians can pursue their bizarre goals in our country,” said Cathleen Cleaver, spokeswoman for the bishops’ Pro-Life Secretariat.
Without a total ban, cloning “for research” will also ensue, she said.
“Human cloning for research is equally objectionable,” Cleaver added. “Irresponsible researchers in Massachusetts, California and elsewhere intend to mass-produce human clones as a source of research material.”
The Raelian project is widely condemned, in part because 95% of their attempts at human cloning will be unsuccessful — meaning that cloned children will die before birth or suffer severe deformity.
“Some proposals from the research cloning camp include allowing the clone to grow for many weeks before being killed,” Cleaver said. “The irony here is that cloning for research requires a 100% prenatal death rate.”
The impact of cloning on women must also be considered, she said.
“To make human cloning for research possible, women will have to provide massive numbers of eggs by an extraction process that is painful and raises health risks,” Cleaver observed. “Making women egg-factories for this research is an utterly demeaning proposition.”
