Sam Brownback: “I rise to speak on the issue I brought before the body yesterday, which is what is taking place in Massachusetts and…”

“I rise to speak on the issue I brought before the body yesterday, which is what is taking place in Massachusetts and probably other places across the country, and that is human cloning. I am seeking to get H.R. 2505, to ban human cloning, heard. It has already been passed by the House of Representatives with a 100-vote margin. If we cannot get a ban through, I would like to put forward a proposal which I presented to the leadership, to Senator Daschle, for a 6-month or even 3-month moratorium on human cloning until we have time for this body to consider the overall issue of human cloning. To date, we have not been able to have a full vote taking place on this issue. We know that one company has developed two human clones, and they lived for a week. It is a matter of time before we see announcements--and we could see announcements anytime--about one being implanted into a woman. We have no rules or regulations dealing with this issue--none at all. We have far more rules and regulations dealing with endangered species and the bald eagle's egg than a human embryo being developed by cloning mechanisms. This is being banned around the world, and yet it is happening here.”