Senate Concurrent Resolution 548

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION DECLARING THAT HUMAN CLONING IS AGAINST THE PUBLIC POLICY OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI AND SUPPORTING ETHICALLY RESPONSIBLE STEM CELL RESEARCH.

WHEREAS, adult stem cell research has shown greater promise than human embryonic stem cell research, yielding successful clinical trials to treat more than 50 diseases; and

WHEREAS, for example, research involving (umbilical) cord blood has produced an increasing number of therapies in clinical trials; and

WHEREAS, human embryos are human beings at the earliest stage of biological development; and

WHEREAS, destructive human embryo research to obtain embryonic stem cells raises grave moral, ethical, scientific and medical issues that must be addressed; and

WHEREAS, cloning of embryos for research requires the donation of a significant number of eggs from women, that significant medical risks exist for women who undergo ovarian hyperstimulation to produce eggs to donate for cloning embryos, and that a significant percentage experience severe ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, which can cause pain, and occasionally leads to hospitalization, renal failure, potential future infertility, and even death; and

WHEREAS, researchers must take every opportunity to tell potential egg donors that it is extremely unlikely that their contributions will directly benefit themselves or their loved ones; and

WHEREAS, there are practical, scientific problems with embryonic stem cells--including making the embryonic cells differentiate into specific viable cells consistently and the uncontrollable development of teratomas--that may prevent any development of real therapies; and that, in any case, it is nearly certain that any clinical benefits from any embryonic research are years or maybe decades away; and

WHEREAS, the success of South Korean researchers in producing cloned human embryos and customized embryonic cell lines, so widely touted since 2004, has recently been proven to be erroneous, if not fraudulent; and

WHEREAS, progress in medical research cannot rely on the premise that some human lives should be destroyed now to possibly help other lives in the future; and

WHEREAS, progress in medical research and treatment does not require the destruction of human life, because progress can be ethically and successfully pursued through the use of adult stem cells; and

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby declare the following:

(a) Human cloning; including the cloning of human embryos and embryonic research, is against public policy;

(b) We support ethically responsible stem cell research, while opposing any research that exploits or destroys human embryos;

(c) We support the development of strategies to assist Mississippi universities in developing their capacity to attract and retain adult stem cell researchers.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be forwarded to the Governor, the State Board of Health and the State Medical Licensure Board and the National Health Institute and be made available to the Capitol Press Corps.