House passes human cloning ban

Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY May 15, 2009 11:00 am

— The Oklahoma House has overwhelmingly passed legislation to prohibit human cloning.
Lawmakers voted 83-0 for the measure Friday and sent it to the Senate for final passage.
The action comes three weeks after Gov. Brad Henry vetoed a bill that would have outlawed embryonic stem cell research. His veto was overridden in the House but sustained by the Senate.
The human cloning bill would prohibit the creation of human embryos through cloning for the purpose of harvesting their stem cells and prohibit reproductive cloning.
Supporters say the bill is narrower than the one vetoed by Henry but would still achieve part of the vetoed bill's goal.
House members inserted the human cloning language into a bill that made minor changes to the Oklahoma Long-Term Care Partnership Program.