Culture & Cosmos / US Senators Hopeful UN Declaration on Cloning will Help with US Ban

The silence of the MSM on this ban... well is typical.

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Culture & Cosmos

February 22, 2005 Volume 2, Number 29

US Senators Hopeful UN Declaration on Cloning will Help with US Ban

A United Nations declaration calling on nations to ban all forms of
human cloning was praised by conservative political leaders and some
insiders see it as a positive step in the ongoing efforts to pass a
comprehensive ban on cloning in the US.

The declaration, passed by the UN's legal committee on Friday, calls on
member states "to prohibit all forms of human cloning inasmuch as they are
incompatible with human dignity and the protection of human life." The
vote was 71 in favor of the declaration; 35 opposed; and 43 abstentions.
It came after three years of deadlock between a group of countries, led by
Costa Rica, which wanted to end all cloning, and a group led by Belgium,
that wanted to permit human clones to be created for the purpose of
destroying them in research. Both factions had originally proposed
competing cloning conventions, which are legally binding. They later
decided to debate a cloning declaration which is not binding on member
states.

A coalition of pro-life, non-governmental organizations said the
declaration "represents a significant step forward in advancing respect
for human life." US Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) who has led the
Congressional effort to get a national ban on all cloning, said, "I am
extremely encouraged that the international community has made such a
strong statement today in support of protecting innocent human life and
human dignity. Human cloning is the deliberate creation of a human life
for utilitarian purposes. That life is created simply for research or for
the benefit of another. Any time in history when we have subjected one
class of human beings to enslavement by another class has been wrong. This
time is no different."

US Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pennsylvania) agreed; "I am pleased that a
UN committee recently recognized the dignity of human life and recommended
that member states enact a comprehensive ban on human cloning. . . . I
will continue working with my colleagues in the US Senate to pass
legislation that will ban human cloning in the US and continue to protect
the sanctity of life."

Brownback plans to reintroduce legislation to ban cloning in the Senate
in the coming weeks. The bill has been approved in the House of
Representatives twice and has the support of President Bush but it has
stalled both times it reached the Senate. Supporters of the cloning ban
hope that the UN declaration will serve as an extra rhetorical weapon when
the bill is debated again. They will likely to cite the declaration as
proof that it is those who oppose a total cloning ban who are out of touch
with the international community.

They will also emphasize that many developing countries, especially
those of Africa, were the strongest voices in opposition to cloning. This
is because if cloning were to be pursued for research purposes millions of
eggs would be necessary. Leaders of the developing countries expect that
it would be their female citizens who would be exploited by having their
bodies turned into egg farms. The process of stimulating numerous egg
production in a woman is painful and dangerous.

Copyright 2005---Culture of Life Foundation.
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