State Senate divided over cloning ban bill

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The upcoming "Star Wars" film centers on what is known in the saga's mythology as the Clone Wars. The Missouri Senate last week found itself embroiled in its own version of the cloning conflict.

Concerned the realm of science fiction is on the verge of intruding into reality, some senators want to ban human cloning in the state. There is virtually uniform opposition to using cloning techniques to create a human child, as has already been done to produce sheep, cats and a variety of other mammals.

However, a bill sponsored by state Sen. Matt Bartle, R-Lee's Summit, would outlaw a process known as somatic cell nuclear transfer that many researchers believe holds the promise of producing cures for countless diseases and serious injuries.

For Republicans, who hold a 22-10 majority over Democrats in the Senate, the issue has divided two key constituencies -- social and religious conservatives who oppose abortion and view therapeutic cloning as destroying human life and business groups that see great economic potential in making Missouri a center for scientific research.

Missouri Catholic Conference director Larry Weber said it is unfortunate the legislature's normally reliable pro-life majority is split on the issue, but his group hopes to bring public pressure to bear on lawmakers to revive the bill.

"We hate to see division in that block on one hand," Weber said. "On the other hand, we don't think we can abandon our principles."

At the core of the debate is what constitutes a human life.

"What you have is a human embryo," Bartle said. "If allowed to develop, it will develop into something that looks a lot like a baby."

The intent of the research is to eventually be able to grow needed cells to repair damaged tissue or cure degenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's. An alternative means of medical research that doesn't involve the creation and destruction of embryos, Bartle said, is harvesting stem cells from adults.

"To suggest a vote against this bill is a vote against disease cures is misleading," Bartle said. "If there is any doubt, shouldn't that doubt be resolved in favor of human life?"

Koster said several key steps needed to create life, including implantation into a womb, don't take place under therapeutic cloning.

In a cool and deliberative prosecutorial fashion, Koster used Bartle's own argument about erring on the side of life against him. To do so, Koster said, is not to ban the harvesting of cells but to allow those cells to be used to save lives.

"Until I'm presented with a stronger case than has been presented, I cannot vote to end a promising area of research," Koster said.

The bill originally would have made engaging in cloning research a felony. By the time the measure reached the floor, the criminal provision was dropped and replaced with civil fines of up to $50,000.

The Catholic Conference's Weber said that no one wants to hamper legitimate scientific pursuit, but as such research begins to take hold in the state, certain safeguards need to be put in place.

"It is important that Missouri's participation in the life science industry follows reasonable ethical standards," Weber said.

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