Human Cloning Prohibition Act

According to the Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2009, which was amended by the House of Representatives on January 6, 2009, cloning is found to be unlawful, unethical and immoral. Below are the key findings mentioned by Congress regarding the prohibition of cloning in the United States.

Section 2: Findings

• Congress finds that past attempts to clone sheep and other animals through the process of "somatic cell nuclear transfer," had limited success. Cloning children would result in a large number of unhealthy and severely disabled clones. Cloning is found to be immoral because it would authorize the cloning of both the living and deceased persons without their legal consent. Ultimately, cloning eliminates sexual reproduction and insists that children be produced in laboratories, disregarding the parent-child relationship. Various religious groups and pro-life supporters have also agreed that cloning completely denounces an appreciation for human life and procreation.

Section 2 continued : U.N. Position on Human Cloning

• Canada, France and Germany are among 23 countries that have banned human cloning. The U.N. is now pushing for all of its members to ban human cloning as well.

Section 302: Imprisonment and Fines

• Cloning is found to be unlawful, in addition to importing the product of human cloning for any purpose. You can be fined or face imprisonment up to 10 years for breaking this law, or receive both punishments depending on the severity of the offense.

Section 302.d Scientific Research

• Human cloning is banned but the cloning of DNA, cells other than human embryos, tissues, organs, plants, are NOT unlawful according to the Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2009.

High hopes were shortly lived

• Although the cloning of human embryos in the United States is illegal, findings revealed that some private practices had already initiated human cloning in hopes of cloning being made legal. The discontinuation of these experiments was ordered immediately.