WASHINGTON (ABP) — New Jersey has become the second state to authorize human cloning for therapeutic purposes.
New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey (D) signed a bill Jan. 4 authorizing what supporters call “somatic cell nuclear transplantation,” but banning cloning for reproductive purposes.
“Despite facing overwhelming opposition from many fronts along the way, today we celebrate a great day for families, for research, and for the hope that miracles may be just around the corner,” McGreevey said in a statement accompanying the signing.
Although a bill to ban reproductive cloning nationwide has been introduced in Congress, it has gotten bogged down due to disputes over whether it should contain an exemption for therapeutic cloning. Many conservative Christian and other anti-abortion groups oppose such an exemption.
“The New Jersey law is designed to encourage government-sanctioned 'human fetus farms,'” said Cathy Cleaver Ruse, in a statement from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
In cloning, the nucleus of a non-reproductive cell — such as a skin cell — from a human is transplanted into an egg from which the genetic material has been removed. This creates an embryo that is genetically identical to the person who provided the nucleus.
From there, the cell can develop like a normal fertilized human embryo. The New Jersey law is designed specifically to authorize medical research using “stem cells” from those embryos. Those rudimentary cells have the potential to develop into many different kinds of tissues.
Many scientists believe embryonic stem cells hold the potential to provide therapies and cures for scores of diseases that are currently incurable — such as Alzheimer's disease, cancer, paralysis and Parkinson's disease.
However, the process of harvesting stem cells destroys the embryos from which they are taken.
In addition, many pro-life groups believe research on a different kind of stem cells — those taken from adult human tissues — can also provide revolutionary cures to diseases. But recent studies have suggested that there is little promise in adult stem cells.
New Jersey is the center of the nation's pharmaceutical industry and has a burgeoning biotechnology industry. Industry groups lobbied heavily for passage of the bill, which passed the legislature Dec. 15 despite significant opposition in the heavily Catholic state.
Pro-lifers also contend that the law defines reproductive cloning too narrowly and could allow experimentation on cloned zygotes and fetuses far beyond the embryonic stage.
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