Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty Vetoes Human Cloning, Embryo Destruction Bill

Bioethics   |   Steven Ertelt   |   May 27, 2008   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty Vetoes Human Cloning, Embryo Destruction Bill

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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
May 27
, 2008

St. Paul, MN (LifeNews.com) — Gov. Tim Pawlenty has vetoed the Kahn-Cohen Cloning Bill, which would have legalized human cloning and forced taxpayers to pay for the destruction of human life. Because the legislative session has ended, there is no opportunity for lawmakers to override the veto.

Pro-life advocates strongly opposed the legislation, SF 100, because it funds human cloning and the killing of human embryos at the University of Minnesota.

In his veto message, Pawlenty, considered a potential running mate for John McCain, described the human embryo-destructive experiments as “crossing core ethical and moral boundaries."

“Significant and promising progress continues to be made on the use of adult stem cells. This creates ample opportunity to work toward lifesaving cures,” Pawlenty said. “We should encourage this science.”

The Senate approved S.F. 100 in the 2007 session and the House followed suit earlier this month on a 71-62 vote.

Andrea Rau, a legislative associate for Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, told LifeNews.com that lawmakers tried to deceive the public by saying the Kahn-Cohen Cloning Bill would “ban human cloning.”

However, Rau explained that the legislation specifically sanctions human cloning and requires the University of Minnesota to kill all cloned human beings or face felony charges. She complained the bill also would allow millions of dollars in taxpayer funds to be used to kill living human embryos.

“The attempt by radical legislative leaders to legalize human cloning has failed,” Rau told LifeNews.com Tuesday. “Minnesota citizens do not support clone-and-kill experiments that treat human life as mere raw material for experimentation.”

Even with the veto, MCCL worries the university continues to kill human embryos at its Stem Cell Institute in Minneapolis.

The pro-life group says it believes the destructive experiments on human embryos violate the Human Conceptus law, Minnesota Statute 145.422.

That law prohibits “use of a living human conceptus for any type of scientific, laboratory research or other experimentation except to protect the life or health of the conceptus.”

“The state must protect vulnerable human life by aggressively defending our Human Conceptus law,” Rau said. “We cannot allow human life to become a mere commodity to be cloned and killed for the possible benefit of others.”

Rep. Phyllis Kahn, a Minneapolis Democrat, and Sen. Richard Cohen, a Democrat from St. Paul, were the main sponsors of the legislation.

ACTION: Contact Governor Pawlenty and thank him for vetoing the pro-cloning bill. You can find complete contact information at:
https://www.governor.state.mn.us/contacts/index.htm

Related web sites:
Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life – https://www.mccl.org
Governor Pawlenty – https://www.governor.state.mn.us