Ohio Bill Seeking to Ban Human Cloning, Animal-Human Hybrids Applauded by Christian Group
The Ohio Christian Alliance has applauded the reintroduction of a bill seeking to ban human cloning and animal-human hybrids, arguing that no human lives should begin and end as the subjects of experiments.
"We attest that a process that knowingly encourages human life to be created, manipulated for research, and ultimately destroyed is immoral and should be prohibited," Ohio Christian Alliance said in a statement on Tuesday.
"And all who believe that human life, including nascent human life, is a unique and precious gift from our Creator have an obligation to support efforts to ban it. The bottom line is still that any ban short of a total prohibition on human cloning further devalues the sanctity of human life."
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H.B. 308 is sponsored by State Representative Andy Thompson of Ohio's 95th District, along with 11 other co-sponsors from the House of Representatives. The bill, introduced to the 130th General Assembly Regular Session, seeks to prohibit human cloning; the creation, transportation, or receipt of a human-animal hybrid; the transfer of a nonhuman embryo into a human womb; and the transfer of a human embryo into a nonhuman womb.
"Some medical laboratories have delved into the surreal world of intermixing animal and human DNA with no legal or moral boundaries. These experimental practices simply are outrageous! Animal-human hybrid research is currently being conducted in England, which many in the international medical community now consider to be a rogue medical state. This experimentation has also been conducted in U.S. laboratories, thus the need for legislative language to provide guardrails," OCA President Chris Long continued.
Dr. David Prentice of the Family Research Council, who is leading the testimony on the legislative bill, stated that H.B. 308 provides "common sense restrictions" on practices such as human cloning and animal-human hybrid.
"There are no valid medical or scientific gains that exist or will come from human cloning or hybrid techniques, rather these are abuses of science and should be prohibited. Our focus should be on lifesaving methods such as adult stem cells that put the patient first," Dr. Prentice said.
Ohio has previously pushed other bills seeking to prohibit the "the creation, transportation, or receipt of a human-animal hybrid, the transfer of a nonhuman embryo into a human womb, and the transfer of a human embryo into a nonhuman womb," namely with Ohio Senate Bill 243
Former Ohio Senator Stephen Buehrer, who sponsored the bill, said:
"I would hope that there's one area, no matter where you fall on the continuum of life and research and other things, that you would agree that the mixing of humans and animals in a scientific laboratory is not something that's appropriate."
