The Deceptive Definitions of Human Cloning

Wesley Smith recently had an article published in the Weekly Standard where he examines federal legislation recently introduced in Washington. Wesley notes that while S. 812 is entitled the "Human Cloning Ban and Stem Cell Protection Act of 2007," the legislation actually makes human cloning legal by providing a false and misleading definition of human cloning. Instead of defining human cloning as the actual scientific process of cloning, the falsely named "Human Cloning Ban and Stem Cell Protection Act of 2007" defines human cloning as the "implanting or attempting to implant the product of nuclear transplantation" (also known as a cloned human embryo) into a uterus.

At the state level in Michigan, we are faced with similar legislation. In the Michigan Senate, Gretchen Whitmer has introduced a bill, S.B. 52, which attempts to change the definition of "human cloning" in Michigan's current ban on human cloning as well as allow the destruction of human embryos for research purposes.

Michigan's current law defines human cloning by saying, "‘Human cloning' means the use of human somatic cell nuclear transfer technology to produce a human embryo."

Somatic cell nuclear transfer of SCNT is the scientific term for cloning. This is the technique scientists used to create Dolly the sheep and the various other animals which have been cloned.

Now, here's how Whitmer's legislation, if passed, would change this definition:

"‘Human cloning' means creating or attempting to create a human being by using the somatic cell nuclear transfer procedure for the purpose of, or to implant, the resulting product to initiate a pregnancy that could result in the birth of a human being."

That language doesn't actually outlaw human cloning. It just outlaws attempts to place a cloned human embryo into a womb if that pregnancy could result in birth by deceptively changing the definition of "human cloning" from a factual, scientific definition to one used for political posturing. Once a cloned human embryo has been created, the cloning has already occurred. Placing a cloned embryo into the womb isn't cloning.

The language of this legislation also seems to leave open the possibility of implanting cloned human embryos into wombs (real or artificial ) as long as the purpose of the pregnancy isn't birth but rather growing the cloned child to a point where the child could be aborted and fetal stem cells could be removed. This is a process also known as fetal farming.

Those who favor the creation and destruction of cloned human embryos for their stem cells are typically very careful to avoid saying they are in favor of scientists being allowed to try to create cloned human embryos because they know the public is, for the most part, not comfortable with human cloning and also not comfortable with the idea of creating human embryos solely to destroy them.

The prolife people in Michigan need to pull the curtain back and expose the crooked plans of human cloning proponents to their friends and family.

Tags: michigan, cloning, stem cell