The following news release was issued today, June 30. Read more about the recent human cloning debate in Minnesota here and here.
ST. PAUL — Public funding of human cloning will be legal in Minnesota on July 1 without reauthorization of the state's current ban on such funding. Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, the state's oldest and largest pro-life organization, helped to pass the ban on taxpayer funding of human cloning during the 2009 legislative session.
A recent Gallup poll showed that 84 percent of Americans believe human cloning is morally wrong (May 5-8, 2011).
"Minnesotans, like the vast majority of American citizens, are opposed to the cloning of human beings," said MCCL Legislative Associate Jordan Bauer. "People don't want human life treated as mere raw material for experiments, and they do not want to pay for such unethical activity."
The 2009 Legislature ushered through a session law provision that provided for a two-year ban on state funding of all forms of human cloning. Because this provision expires on June 30, MCCL has supported legislative efforts to either ban human cloning (authored by Rep. Bob Dettmer, R-Forest Lake, and Sen. Michelle Fischbach, R-Paynesville) or to enact a statutory prohibition on taxpayer funding of human cloning (authored by Rep. King Banaian, R-St. Cloud, and Sen. Fischbach).
Both of these efforts were ultimately included in omnibus bills and vetoed by Gov. Dayton. If no language is included in the final budget agreement, Minnesota's established pro-life policy on human cloning will end and Minnesota taxpayers can legally be forced to fund human cloning and human cloning experimentation.
The University of Minnesota repeatedly testified in opposition to these legislative efforts to protect the dignity of nascent human life. The U of M argued not only in favor of human cloning, but also for taxpayers to fund any efforts on its part to clone human beings.
MCCL provided testimony in hearings on both bills in support of legal protections from human cloning. MCCL lobbyists explained that not only do the American people strongly oppose human cloning, but also the United Nations. In addition, researchers in America and around the globe are rejecting human cloning and are turning to other forms of research that are both ethical and more successful.
"Human cloning is unethical and obsolete," Bauer said. "MCCL and the citizens of the state call upon the Legislature and Gov. Dayton to include a ban on all human cloning in their negotiations."
