Washington Editor

WASHINGTON - The Republican-held House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed legislation that goes beyond the much-talked-about ban on therapeutic and reproductive cloning. The legislation, introduced by Reps. Dave Weldon (R-Fla.) and Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), would prohibit the U.S. from importing medical therapies created from cloned human embryos.

Called the Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2003 (HR 534), the legislation passed in a 241-155 vote Thursday. A similar measure, which died at the end of the 107th Congress in December, passed in August 2001 in a 265-162 vote.

Also on Thursday in the House, a measure introduced by Reps. James Greenwood (R-Pa.) and Peter Deutsch (D-Fla.) that would allow therapeutic cloning while banning human cloning, failed in a 231-174 vote.

In response to the votes, Michael Werner, vice president for bioethics at the Washington-based Biotechnology Industry Organization, released a prepared statement saying, "BIO opposes reproductive cloning because it is unethical and dangerous, but this bill [HR 534] amounts to overkill, with some potentially serious consequences for medical research. It would criminalize therapeutic research using somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), as well as the importation of any products developed abroad using the technology. If this draconian legislation becomes law, the anti-importation provisions would deny American patients the benefits of SCNT-based regenerative medicines developed abroad."

Violators of the Weldon-Stupak legislation would face prison and fines up to $1 million.

President Bush has been clear in voicing his opposition to any type of cloning. However, Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), the Senate majority leader who also is a heart surgeon and close presidential adviser, reportedly seeks some sort of compromise on the therapeutic issue.

Last summer in the Senate, such a compromise was not in the cards.

Two competing sides - one led by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and the other by Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) - never found common ground.

But each side is back again.

Feinstein, along with Sens. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), want industry-friendly legislation allowing therapeutic cloning, while Brownback wants to ban it all. (The Brownback bill does not include the anti-importation provision.)

Regarding the Feinstein legislation, Werner's statement simply says, "[It] would protect vital therapeutic research while banning reproductive cloning."