THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release |
March 4, 1997 |
Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies
SUBJECT: Prohibition on Federal Funding for Cloning of Human Beings
Recent accounts of advances in cloning technology, including the first
successful cloning of an adult sheep, raise important questions. They
potentially represent enormous scientific breakthroughs that could offer
benefits in such areas as medicine and agriculture. But the new technology also
raises profound ethical issues, particularly with respect to its possible use to
clone humans. That is why last week I asked our National Bioethics Advisory
Commission to thoroughly review the legal and ethical issues associated with the
use of this technology and report back to me in 90 days.
Federal funds should not be used for cloning of human beings. The current
restrictions on the use of Federal funds for research involving human embryos do
not fully assure this result. In December 1994, I directed the National
Institutes of Health not to fund the creation of human embryos for research
purposes. The Congress extended this prohibition in FY 1996 and FY 1997
appropriations bills, barring the Department of Health and Human Services from
supporting certain human embryo research. However, these restrictions do not
explicitly cover human embryos created for implantation and do not cover all
Federal agencies. I want to make it absolutely clear that no Federal funds will
be used for human cloning. Therefore, I hereby direct that no Federal funds
shall be allocated for cloning of human beings.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON
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