Bills
| 3.23.22

Should Human Cloning be Banned? (H.R. 3498)

Do you support or oppose this bill?

What is H.R. 3498?

(Updated March 25, 2020)

This bill would make it illegal for any person or entity to attempt to clone a human or ship or receive the product of human cloning. It would impose a punishment of up to 10 years imprisonment, in addition to holding a perpetrator liable for over $1 million in civil penalties if they financially benefit from the cloning.

Nothing in this legislation would restrict other scientific research into cloning things other than human embryos, so research into cloning animals, plants, DNA, or organs could continue.

There are no current federal laws that specifically relate to human cloning, although there have in the past been restrictions on the use of embryonic stem cells in scientific research.

Argument in favor

The U.S. should join several of its European peers in banning human cloning for reproductive or therapeutic purposes. Cloning humans raises too many ethical questions for it to be allowed.

Argument opposed

Fears about cloning humans and the societal turmoil it could cause are overblown. Morality shouldn't be allowed to stand in the way of potentially life and world altering scientific advancements.

Impact

People who try to clone a human or otherwise assist in the process; and the federal government.

Cost of H.R. 3498

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Since Dolly the sheep became the first mammal successfully cloned from an adult cell, a fierce debate has raged over the ethics human cloning, even though no person has been successfully cloned.

Opponents of reproductive human cloning have raised concerns about the social problems that might arise from creating a person who is genetically identical to another who previously existed or is still alive. They argue that this could create conflicts with religious and social values about human dignity, individual freedom or autonomy, and personal identity.

Those that support the reproductive cloning of humans point out that it would give infertile couples the ability have children of their own. It might also help people suffering from disease that need an organ transplant or lead to a related medical breakthrough because of the scientific research required to successfully clone a human.

There is also therapeutic cloning, which involves the creation of a human embryo for the purpose of destroying it to use the embryonic stem cells it produces in treating a person suffering from disease or injury. While therapeutic cloning offers that advantage, detractors often argue that destroying an embryo is akin to destroying human life which can’t be justified by helping the beneficiary.

Sponsoring Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) makes the argument, with his bill and in public speeches, that for him human cloning is morally wrong: 

“What you’re doing is you’re creating something that is a human being – that’s the genetics of it. It’s something we should say we draw the line on.  You can envision this ‘Matrix’-like thing where you’re actually growing clones over a matter of time to try and harvest, later on, the organs."

Of Note: Over 30 countries have banned human cloning for reproductive purposes, while France, Germany and Switzerland prohibit also prohibit it for therapeutic reasons. England, Singapore, Sweden, China, and Israel allow cloning for research but prohibit it for reproduction.

It was announced in May 2016 that a team of scientists might begin research into creating animals that have human organs (or chimeras) that could provide for more advanced scientific research or even allow for transplants to ill humans. The National Institutes of Health has imposed a moratorium on the project’s funding to give officials time to consider the ethical issues raised by the research.


Media:

Summary by Eric Revell
(Photo Credit: via Wikimedia Commons)