LOUISIANA: Effort To Outlaw Cloning Of Human Cells Stalls In House

[Murray Charters <mcharters@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

LOUISIANA: Effort To Outlaw Cloning Of Human Cells Stalls In House
By KEVIN McGILL
Associated Press Writer

Last modified: May 10. 2004 6:33PM

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Rep. Gary Beard's effort to outlaw the cloning of human 
cells was dealt a setback Monday by the
House, which voted 55-42 for an amendment to allow the creation of cloned cells 
for medical "stem-cell" research.

Beard had opposed the amendment by Rep. Eric LaFleur, D-Ville Platte, and 
pulled back his bill when the amendment was
added. He could bring the bill up again later and try to strip the LaFleur 
amendment.

Lawmakers generally agree that the duplication of a human being through cloning 
should be illegal. The disagreement
concerns the cloning of a human cell to create an embryo that is not intended 
for implantation in a woman's womb.

Cells are cloned by placing a donor's genetic material into a human egg cell 
from which all DNA material has been
removed; the fused egg and donor cell can then be used to produce "stem cells" 
in a petri dish for use in developing
therapies for various maladies; or, it could be implanted in a woman's womb, 
where it would supposedly develop into a
genetic duplicate of the DNA donor.

Stem cells are the body's building blocks and have the potential to become many 
different types of cells. Scientists
believe the cells can be coaxed into specific cells to repair organs or treat 
diseases such as diabetes, Parkinson's
and Alzheimer's.

Beard wanted to outlaw the creation of the new embryo. LaFleur warned that even 
therapies developed in other states
from the cloning of embryos would be illegal in Louisiana hospitals under 
Beard's bill.

Lobbying on the bill has been intense and often emotional.

Beard's supporters say the value of research from embryonic cells has been 
overvalued and that stem cells taken not
from embryos but from the blood or bone marrow or even the fat of fully 
developed human beings is more promising. Some
question the morality of creating an embryonic cell for the purpose of killing 
it in the development of therapies. And
some worried that the embryonic cell could be illegally sold or used to create 
a new human being.

On the other side were victims of various diseases - including Parkinson's 
disease and juvenile diabetes - who feared
Beard's bill would shut the door on promising research.

Rep. Jim Tucker, R-Terrytown, expressed concern about denying possible cures to 
such victims. And he discounted
concerns that the Legislature could stop human cloning. "If there's a Dr. 
Frankenstein out there who wants to clone
someone, they're going to do it
 regardless of whatever law we pass," he said.

Rep. Charlie DeWitt, D-Alexandria, argued for LaFleur's amendment. He poked fun 
at himself and a colleague as he drew a
distinction between creating a cloned embryo for research and duplicating a 
human being.

"We're not talking about making another Charlie DeWitt," DeWitt said. "We're 
surely not talking about another Peppi
Bruneau - nobody would let that happen."

SOURCE: Sarasota Herald-Tribune, FL - May 10, 2004


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