Iowa Catholics Object to "Clone & Kill" Stem Cell Research

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'CLONE AND KILL' -- The Iowa Catholic Conference registered its opposition Tuesday to Gov. Chet Culver's call for lifting a ban on stem cell research tied to the cloning of human embryos.

Culver wants the ban lifted and is asking lawmakers for $12.5 million to create a regenerative medicine research center at the University of Iowa to pursue embryonic stem cell research.

Iowa law bars researchers from using cloning techniques to create embryos for research that are later destroyed. The Catholic conference calls the procedure "clone and kill."

"Gov. Culver and legislators should maintain our ban on human cloning," said Sara Eide executive director of the conference, which is the policy arm of the Catholic bishops of Iowa. "And we shouldn't require Iowa taxpayers to fund research that requires the destruction of human life."

Supporters of lifting the ban counter that research on stem cells derived from cloned embryos may hold the promise of cures for many chronic diseases. Sioux City Journal