Stem Cell Advance Makes Michigan Cloning Legislation Irrelevant


In light of new developments in adult stem cell research announced from two continents, proposed Michigan legislation to advance embryonic stem cell research through cloning has become irrelevant.

Recently, the Michigan House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on bills that would overturn Michigan laws which prohibit the killing of human embryos for research. The central bill in the package, H.B. 4616, sponsored by Representative Andy Meisner, would also allow researchers to kill cloned human embryos for research.

Researchers from Japan and Wisconsin reported on November 20, 2007, that human skin cells have been reprogrammed to act like embryonic stem cells. This historic announcement ends the need to extract stem cells from human embryos or the need to clone human embryos for cells. The need for killing unique human embryos for research is over.

Right to Life of Michigan Legislative Director Ed Rivet said, "The days of killing embryos to harvest stem cells is over. It's time to put this unethical research and this irrelevant legislation on the scrap heap of history. We're ecstatic that the focus of research will now be on stem cell techniques that will bring breakthrough cures as quickly as possible."