At present, there is no federal ban on therapeutic cloning.[1] The House initially passed two bills prohibiting cloning but both were discontinued in the Senate.
In 2001, President Bush authorized the first federal funding on stem cell research but backtracked in 2006 due to political pressure as he made use of his veto power by rejecting attempt to lift federal funding restriction on therapeutic cloning or human embryo stem cell research.[2] Some states such as California and New Jersey permit therapeutic cloning research while South Dakota currently has the most restrictive laws against therapeutic cloning research.
The Roman Catholic Church is one of the staunchest critics of cloning as it is fighting for the total ban of Embryonic Stem Cell Research or Therapeutic Cloning. In a statement entitled “On Embryonic Stem-Cell Research: A Statement of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops”, the US Bishops said that the use of human embryos for research is gravely immoral and unnecessary to wit:
“It now seems undeniable that once we cross the fundamental moral line that prevents us from treating any fellow human being as a mere object of research, there is no stopping point. The only moral stance that affirms the human dignity of all of us is to reject the first step down this path.”[3]
Moreover, they say that giving scientists the free hand in conducting human embryonic stem cell research not only leads to the destruction of human embryos but may in the future may lead to the scientific community being less sensitive to the essence and value of human life. The Catholic Church fears the possibility that the harvesting and gathering of human embryos for research and study may be a slippery slope as it may be the first step towards the objectification of human life.