Columbus, OH (LifeNews.com) -- An Ohio House committee held a hearing Tuesday on for the second time on a bill that would ban all forms of human cloning in the state. The Ohio Senate Judiciary Civil Justice Committee heard discussion on the measure, S.B. 174, but did not take a vote on it.

Senator Stephen Buehrer, a Republican, is the sponsor of the bill, which saw several pro-life advocates speak in favor of it.

Under the legislation, anyone who engaged in research-based or reproductive human cloning would be guilty of a misdemeanor and subjected to two years in prison and fines potentially totaling $250,000.

Chris Long, the president of the Ohio Christian Alliance and a leader in moving the bill forward, spoke in favor of it as did Dr. David Prentice, a Family Research Council fellow and a former professor at Indiana State University.

Dr. Dennis Sullivan, MD, the director of the Center for Bioethics at Cedarville University also made a presentation in favor of the measure.

Other groups including Ohio Right to Life and Right to Life of Greater Cincinnati support the measure. The former submitted written testimony in support of the human cloning ban and the latter group submitted petitions from Ohio residents saying they want the bill to become law.

ACTION: Contact members of the Ohio Senate Judiciary Civil Justice Committee and urge them to support the human cloning ban. Go here for a list of members and contact information.