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Note: On January 4th, Governor
McGreevey did sign this bill into legislation!
New Jersey Set to Affront Human Dignity
New Law Will Legalize Embryo Research, Cloning, and Fetal
Harvesting
Chicago, Illinois - January 2,
2004 - The New Jersey Legislature has passed a bill that, if signed by
the Governor, would make the state one where some of the most terrible crimes
against humanity can be legally perpetuated.
Promoters of the bill have argued that the legislation
bans cloning and promotes embryonic stem cell research. However, bill
S1909/A2840 will not only explicitly allow embryonic stem cell research, it will
also allow somatic cell nuclear transfer (cloning) and the development of unborn
clones up until birth. It only explicitly prohibits cloning "an
individual" which the bill defines as, "the replication of a human
individual by cultivating a cell with genetic material [the SCNT cloning
process] through the egg, embryo, fetal and newborn stages into a new human
individual."
Legal analysis of the bill by Prof. Gerard Bradley at
Notre Dame Law School currently available on the www.cloninginformation.org
web site has noted that any woman found carrying a cloned fetus would be
required by law to abort her fetus, even if she decided not to do so. Since
forced abortions are not likely, the birth of human clones is almost certain to
result from this legislation. Prof. Bradley also points out that the bill, in
effect, allows the creation of a market in embryonic and fetal body parts by
allowing "reasonable payment" for services or purchases related to
cloning and harvesting.
John F. Kilner, Ph.D., President of The Center for
Bioethics and Human Dignity, says regarding the bill, "It is disturbing
enough that this law--intentionally or unintentionally--will result in the birth
of cloned human beings and the creation of fetal human beings explicitly in
order to mine them for body parts. But it also weakens the legal protection of
newborn infants by amazingly excluding them from the definition of a 'human
being': human beings are not those who have developed through the embryonic and
fetal 'stages', but only those who have developed through the newborn 'stage' as
well."
Daniel McConchie, Director of Public Relations and
Public Policy with The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity said, "This
bill is the most explicit and extreme legalization of embryo research, cloning,
and fetal organ farming in the world. If Governor McGreevey signs this bill, it
will provide clear-cut protections for egregious human rights violations: the
exploitation of even late-term fetuses as natural resources."
For more information about this bill, visit Americans to
Ban Cloning www.cloninginformation.org
or New Jersey State Legislature www.njleg.state.nj.us
and search for bill S1909 or A2840.
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