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HOUSE AMENDMENTS AMENDED
May 29, 2002
S. 820
S. Printed 5/29/02--S.
Read the first time April 2, 2002.
TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 16-17-745 SO AS TO MAKE IT UNLAWFUL FOR ANY PERSON THROUGH "CLONING" TO GROW OR CREATE A HUMAN BEING, OR ANY HUMAN PART, OR TO CONSPIRE TO DO SO, TO DEFINE CLONING FOR THIS PURPOSE, AND TO PROVIDE PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS.
Amend Title To Conform
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Title 16 of the 1976 South Carolina Code of laws is amended by adding:
Section 16-28-10. This chapter may be cited as the 'Prohibition of Human Cloning Act.'
Section 16-28-15. The General Assembly finds:
(1) Human cloning is unsafe, immoral and unacceptable.
(2) Legislation should be enacted to prohibit anyone from attempting to conduct human cloning.
(3) To deter human cloning, any attempt to create a human clone should be a felony subject to severe punishment.
(4) The National Academies (including the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine) and the National Bioethics Advisory Commission recommended that any legislative action undertaken to ban human cloning should be careful not to interfere with important areas of scientific research, such as nuclear transplantation to produce stem cells.
(5) The National Academies found that there are significant differences between human cloning and nuclear transplantation. Specifically, the Academies determined that, unlike human cloning, the creation of embryonic stem cells by nuclear transplantation does not involve implantation of an embryo in a uterus and thus cannot produce a complete, live-born animal, commonly referred to as a 'clone'.
(6) The National Academies found that scientific and medical considerations that justify a ban on human cloning are not applicable to nuclear transplantation.
(7) The National Academies concluded that nuclear transplantation has great potential to increase the understanding and potential treatment of various diseases and debilitation disorders, as well as our fundamental biological knowledge. These diseases and disorders include Lou Gehrig's disease, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, spinal-cord injury, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and many others.
(8) The National Academies determined that nuclear transplantation research could improve the ability to transplant healthy tissue derived from stem cells into patients with damaged or diseased organs. Such research could greatly reduce the likelihood that a person's body would reject that tissue and also help obviate the need for immunosuppressive drugs, which often have severe and potentially life-threatening side effects.
(9) Based on these expert conclusions and recommendations and other evidence, nuclear transplantation is a valuable area of research that could potentially save millions of lives and relieve the suffering of countless others, and thus should not be banned.
(10) The National Academies recommended that nuclear transplantation experiments should be subject to close scrutiny under Federal procedures and rules concerning human-subject research.
(11) Given the need for additional oversight in this area, strict ethical requirements for human subjects research, including informed consent, safety and privacy protections, and review by an ethics board, should be prescribed for all research involving nuclear transplantation.
Section 16-28-20. It is the purpose of this chapter to prohibit human cloning and to protect important areas of medical research.
Section 16-28-25. (A) The following terms mean:
(1) 'Human Cloning' means implanting or attempting to implant the product of nuclear transplantation into a uterus or the functional equivalent of a uterus.
(2) 'Somatic Cell' means any human cell other than a haploid germ cell.
(3) 'Nucleus' means the cell structure that houses the chromosomes.
(4) 'Oocyte' means the female germ cell, the egg.
(5) 'Asexual Reproduction' means reproduction not initiated by the union of oocycte and sperm.
(6) 'Stem Cells' mean undifferentiated cells that have not yet developed into a particular type of cell that performs a specialized function such as, skin, hear, or nerve cells and can, under circumstances, develop into many different types of cells.
(B) It shall be unlawful for any person or other entity, public or private to conduct, or attempt to conduct human cloning. A person who violates this section is guilty of a felony and upon conviction must be fined not more than fifty thousand dollars or imprisoned for not more than five years, or both. Each violation constitutes a separate offense. A license to practice a profession or occupation issued by a board, agency, or department of the State must be suspended immediately if the licensee violates this section while engaging in that profession or occupation.
(C) Nothing in this section shall be construed to restrict practices not expressly prohibited in this section.
Section 16-28-30. All research involving nuclear transplantation must be conducted in accordance with Federal Regulations and the Humans Cloning Prohibition Act of 2002. For the purposes of research, the following definitions apply:
(1) `Human Somatic Cell' means any human cell other than a haploid germ cell.
(2) `Nuclear Transplantation' means transferring the nucleus of a human somatic cell into an oocyte from which the nucleus or all chromosomes have been or will be removed or rendered inert.
(3) 'Nucleus' means the cell structure that houses the chromosomes.
(4) 'Oocyte' means the female germ cell, the egg."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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