Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) yesterday introduced legislation that would ban reproductive cloning but allow cloning for medical research purposes, and influential antiabortion lawmaker Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) announced his decision to support the measure, the Washington Post reports. The bill would prohibit the transfer of cloned human embryos either to a woman's uterus or an "artificial womb," and violators of the law would be subject to fines of $1 million and 10 years in prison. The bill would not prohibit the cloning of human embryos for medical research purposes, although any scientists wishing to practice therapeutic cloning would first need to obtain approval from a science and ethics advisory board. Current federal law only requires this type of oversight if the work receives federal funding. "We believe we have an excellent chance to prevail" in gaining approval for the measure, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), who also signed on to the bill yesterday, said. However, antiabortion groups denounced the measure. Douglas Johnson, a spokesperson for the National Right to Life Committee, stated that the bill would allow "countless" embryos to be "kill[ed]," adding, "This bill will not become law" (Weiss, Washington Post, 5/1). The measure is expected to be taken up by the Senate later this month. The Senate is also considering an alternate bill (S 1899) sponsored by Sens. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) and Mary Landrieu (D-La.) that would ban both reproductive and therapeutic cloning (Willing, USA Today, 5/1).

The Hatch Factor
In a move that could impact the opinions of many conservative lawmakers, Hatch announced yesterday that he would co-sponsor the Feinstein/Kennedy bill. "I come to this issue with a strong pro-life, pro-family record. But I do believe that a critical part of being pro-life is to support measures that help the living," Hatch stated (Stolberg, New York Times, 5/1). Cloning opponents and antiabortion groups criticized Hatch's decision to support the bill. "His reasoning is morally vacuous and scientifically inaccurate," Family Research Council President Kenneth Connor said (Kranish, Boston Globe, 5/1). But supporters of therapeutic cloning hailed the senator's decision to support the bill. Michael Manganiello, president of the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research, said that Hatch's decision to support therapeutic cloning marked the "same watershed moment" as his decision last year to support embryonic stem cell research (New York Times, 5/1). "Hatch's support is extremely significant because of his pro-life record," Michael Werner, a representative of the biotechnology industry, said (Boston Globe, 5/1). "Hatch has stature as a conservative Republican, and his support certainly makes it easier for others to come to our side," Sean Tipton, a spokesperson for the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, stated. Senators are believed to be close to evenly split on the cloning issue, with several lawmakers -- including Sens. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.), John McCain (R-Ariz.) and John Breaux (D-La.) -- still undecided (Zitner, Los Angeles Times, 5/1).

Scientists Coax Adult Skin Cells to 'Behave' Like Immune Cells
In related news, a team of scientists from Norway and the United States say that they have managed to stimulate skin cells to "ac[t] like T cells" without the use of cloning techniques or embryonic stem cells, the Reuters/Boston Globe reports (Reuters/Boston Globe, 5/1). The results appear today in the journal Nature Biotechnology. The technique used in the study would allow skin cells to be turned directly into other types of cells without having to revert first to an embryonic state and without the use of a woman's egg, a finding that could have an impact on the current debate over embryonic stem cell research and therapeutic cloning. "The message here is we are developing an entirely new approach to tissue replacement therapy that avoids many of the issues" related to cloning and embryonic stem cell research, lead author Dr. Philippe Collas of the University of Oslo Medical School said. Mary Cannon, executive director of the anti-cloning group Stop Human Cloning, said that the study shows that tissues can be generated from adult cells without the need to "destroy embryos." But Michael Werner, vice president for bioethics at the Biotechnology Industry Organization, which supports therapeutic cloning, said that the new research "was not advanced enough to make it a sure substitute for therapeutic cloning." Dr. Jose Cibelli, vice president for research at Advanced Cell Technology, which also supports therapeutic cloning, said that tissues generated through cloning might have a longer life than cells made directly from skin cells because reverting cells to an embryonic state seems to "rejuvenate" them (Pollack, New York Times, 5/1).