The Louisiana House Criminal Justice Committee last week approved a bill (HB 1810) that would ban human cloning for both reproductive and research purposes in the state, the Baton Rouge Advocate reports (Barrouquere, Baton Rouge Advocate, 5/22). The current state law, which is set to expire on July 1, bans "the practice of creating or attempting to create a human being" through cloning technologies but does not ban cloning for research purposes. The Louisiana House Committee on Health and Welfare earlier this month approved 10-1 a bill (SB 298), sponsored by Sen. Donald Hines (D), that would extend that ban for an additional three years. The Louisiana Senate approved the measure last month. The total cloning bill, which is sponsored by Rep. Gary Beard (R), is supported by a coalition of groups, including the Catholic Church in Louisiana and several antiabortion groups, and was drafted with the help of Dorinda Bordlee, national legislative counsel for Americans United for Life. Hines, who is also a medical doctor, said he had not seen Beard's bill and could not comment on it but added that he was concerned that the measure could be an attempt to ban all stem cell research (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 5/21). Raymond Gasser, a professor at the Louisiana State University Health Science Center in New Orleans, said that the bill "shows respect for human life," adding, "We were all human embryos at one time." According to the Advocate, Gasser said that the measure would not affect adult stem cell research, adding, "Adult stem cell research has been so promising." The bill now goes to the full House (Baton Rouge Advocate, 5/22).