February 15, 2007
Governor Chet Culver and legislative Democrats are pushing an agenda that calls for a repeal of the ban on human cloning (SF 115). The Democrats and Governor Culver support for human cloning is based on the goal of acquiring transplant materials and embryonic stem cells for research, but what they don’t acknowledge is how this change in policy challenges our way of thinking about the ethics of science.
Unfortunately, the Senate passed SF 115 on Wednesday on a 26-24 vote predominately along party lines, with 4 Democrats joining in with all of the Republicans in opposition to the bill.
Despite what you may have heard there is currently no ban on embryonic stem cell research in Iowa. The current ban on cloning simply does not allow for new embryos to be created for research by cloning. The Iowa Code (§707B.4) states that it is illegal to clone anything, receive a cloned anything, or participate in cloning activities such as “somatic cell nuclear transfer”, the technical name for human cloning. The bill has no concerns with embryonic stem cell research, it seems the only reason Culver wants to repeal this bill is his desire to clone human embryos to support a zealous research agenda.
I spoke by telephone to a doctor named Alan Moy who used to work at the University of Iowa in research. He has since left the University program and has started his own private business in Coralville, continuing to do adult stem-cell research and has assured me revoking the ban on human cloning is a bad idea.
The January 22, 2007 Newsweek magazine talks about new technology that makes much of the embryonic stem cell research unnecessary. New scientific research published last month shows encouraging new research in amniotic stem cells-drawn from the fluid surrounding fetuses and from the placenta – which share many of the same qualities of embryonic stem cells.
As an Iowan I believe only God can create life, and I believe, as many Iowans, that this life begins at the moment of conception. This holds true even for an ovum altered through the process of “somatic cell nuclear transfer” and subsequently fertilized in a test tube. A bundle of cells becomes a cloned embryo and has the potential to become a cloned human being.
If it is true that all potential human beings regardless of how they are formed have this spark of life, then is it our place to categorize potential life into separate bins of utility? In the eyes of those pushing this bill embryos are created for multiple purposes; some for adoption, implantation and life as a beloved son or daughter and some created and then destroyed in service to a researcher’s vision of the greater good.
I’m not an ethicist, but as a politician I have an obligation to reach ethical conclusions when issues present themselves in a way that challenges our shared sense of right and wrong. I happen to believe that it is wrong to clone human beings for the purposes of harvesting genetically matched material for scientific study and I believe that Governor Culver and Legislative Democrats are misguided in their attempt to lift this ban.
House Republicans will listen to the arguments, however in light of the slim margin of victory in the Senate, I hope the majority of the House will side with the majority of Iowans and vote against lifting the ban on human cloning.
Question of the Week…
The Iowa DOT is requesting an increase in the tax on gasoline. Do you support the increase in the gasoline tax requested by the Iowa DOT?
I would appreciate your input. My phone number at the Capitol is 515-281-3221, or e-mail me at betty.deboef@legis.state.ia.us. I would welcome visitors at the Capitol, too!