|
The
Clone Rights United Front began as a one issue “reproductive
rights organization. This
credo was spelled out in “The Clone Bill of Rights” which
appeared on our first leaflet issued in opposition to the first
legislation proposed in the USA that would make cloning a human
being a felony punishable by four to seven years imprisonment.
That simple statement, years later, remains the
fundamental principle around which we organize:
THE
CLONE BILL OF RIGHTS:
1.
Every person's DNA is his or her personal property. To have
that DNA cloned into another extended life is part and parcel of his
or her right to control his or her own reproduction.
2. Constitutionally, that right is assigned to neither state
legislatures, nor to the federal government, nor to religious
authorities. It is "reserved" to each and every citizen,
to decide if, how and when to reproduce.
3. Research, not rhetoric, and/or freedom-limiting legal
restrictions, is the only way to discover the real effects of
cloning. Restrictions on research into cloning of humans should not
even be considered unless real social harm can be demonstrated.
Since the announcement of the
birth of Dolly in early 1997, the cloning debate has greatly
expanded.
In late 1998, scientists announced
that they had isolated and cultivated stem cells, the basic cells of
human life, for the first time.
Concurrently, stem cell research and genetic
engineering of both animals and plants have become the focus of
intense public debate.
This debate, the same one
revolving around the issue of cloning a human being, threatens
science’s freedom to inquire and medicine’s freedom to heal.
Therefore, the fight for the freedom of
science is our fight!
Therefore, the fight for the freedom of
medicine to incorporate scientific findings into its practice is our
fight!
All this is part and parcel
of our defense of every individual’s right to know their options
and to make their own decisions.
|