Jackson Free Press

...Well, not exactly. It is agreed amongst all legislators that human cloning is a bit creepy and should not be practiced in the state of Mississippi. (Can you say "The Island" friends?) But a two-hour hearing held at the Capitol by the House Judiciary B Committee (of which I am a member) Wednesday, based on several bills dealing with cloning (HB 1201, HB 1202, HB 1203), dealt more with the issue of stem-cell research which only HB 1203, called the Human Dignity Act, addresses.

Before an audience packed to capacity in Room 113 of the Capitol, about half of them wearing stickers saying, "As a former embryo, I support HB 1203," heavyweights like Sis. Dorethea of St. Dominic's, Dr. Jimmy Porter of the Mississippi Baptist Convention, Former Jackson Mayor Kane Ditto, 1987 GOP gubernatorial candidate Jack Reed, Dr. Dan Jones, the current director of UMMC and Dr. Wallace Connerly, the immediate past director of UMMC, all testified either supporting or opposing the legislation.

Mississippi is now fully engaged in the national debate on stem cell research. Those that support the bill don't want embryonic stem cells to be used, especially if they are created strictly for that purpose. Opponents of the bill argue that just relying on adult stem cells limit the capacity for research on cures to Parkinson's disease and other ailments. The truth is that the jury is still out on the effectiveness of either method. While there have been gains in using both methods, seperately and in combination, it is still pioneering science. It also brings up ethical questions tied into other issues, like the process of in vitro fertilization, and of course, abortion.

HB 1203 proponents say there should be a limit on how many fertilized eggs should be produced and stored and that the extra eggs could be adopted, like through the Snowflake Project, while HB 1203 opponents say the extra eggs can be used for stem cell research, either for the family that produces the eggs or for the greater good of science. Although egg adoption has not been a popular option, for many reasons, the other points offered on both sides are valid and have to be decided by Congress and state legislatures across the country. It is unlikely that HB 1203 will see the light of day, but an anti-cloning bill will hit the floor of the House by Wednesday of next week, with an attempt to amend the bill with the anti-embryonic stem cell langauge. Stay tuned…

Previous Comments

ID

170046

Comment

Update: The House Judiciary B Committee passed HB 1202 Tuesday. The bill will ban human cloning and will create a task force to develop a public policy for stem cell research. I successfully amended the bill to create a $10,000 criminal fine for those who break this law and to repeal the task force on July 2, 2007. The bill also has a $1 million civil penalty for those who violate the law for monetary gain.

Author

Rep. Erik Fleming

Date

2006-02-02T01:30:59-06:00

ID

170047

Comment

GOOD! Imagine if Hitler had this technology. Come to think of it, what if the early Bolsheviks had this technology too (given their "New Soviet Man" rhetoric, I don't see much of a creative leap from 'changing society for the better' to 'changing human nature for the better'. Put this together with the fact that genes can have some influence on ones' personality and you have the recipie for a terrible tragedy. Stem Cells: I'm still divided over this one, since it hooks into the abortion debate. In the end, I think it boils down to "Which is more important: Life Itself or Quality of Life?" I think the answer to this question is as much a matter of faith as much as any religion asks of us.

Author

Philip

Date

2006-02-07T02:49:28-06:00

ID

170048

Comment

Update: HB 1202 passed the House on Thursday (2/10/06). An amendment was offered to allow embryonic stem cell research to continue while the advisory committee was studying the issue. I spoke against the amendment, along with several others, and it was defeated.

Author

Rep. Erik Fleming

Date

2006-02-10T20:45:13-06:00