Chris Smith: “Mr. Speaker, beware of false and misleading bill titles. H.R. 2560, rushed to the floor today after only being…”

“Mr. Speaker, beware of false and misleading bill titles. H.R. 2560, rushed to the floor today after only being introduced several hours ago, is misnamed the ``Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2007.'' The fact is, this bill doesn't ban any human cloning at all. Absolutely none. Researchers are absolutely free, are given the green light, to clone human life to their heart's content, so long as they kill and destroy the cloned human embryo at some point, perhaps weeks, after its creation. As a matter of fact, the legislation makes it a serious crime to allow a cloned human being to survive pass a certain point. In other words, this bizarre piece of legislation would make it illegal not to kill a cloned human being; and the penalties are stiff, up to 10 years in prison and a $10 million fine. By redefining human cloning as ``implantation'' rather than the creation of a new human being that would be then transferred into a uterus or a functional equivalent, this phony ban sanctions unlimited human cloning for research. Even more bizarre, under the bill, if a woman were to have a cloned human embryo implanted in her womb, she could go to jail for up to 10 years and/or be fined up to $10 million. Is that something we want to vote for? I think not. The plain language in the Weldon-Stupak cloning ban penalizes those who facilitate the creation of the clone--not the woman.”