HB 1464

This bill prohibits human cloning in New Hampshire. The bill establishes certain civil and criminal penalties for any violations of this bill.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

(a) At least one company has announced that it has successfully cloned a human being at the early embryonic stage of life, and others have announced that they will attempt to clone a human being using the technique known as somatic cell nuclear transfer.

(b) Efforts to create human beings by cloning mark a new and decisive step toward turning human reproduction into a manufacturing process in which human beings are made in laboratories to preordained specifications and, potentially, in multiple copies.

(c) Creating cloned live-born human children, so-called "reproductive cloning," begins by creating cloned human beings at the embryonic stage of life, a process which some also propose as a way of creating human embryos for destructive research as sources of stem cells and tissues for possible treatment of other humans, so-called "therapeutic cloning."

(d) Many scientists agree that attempts at "reproductive cloning" pose a massive risk of either producing children who are stillborn, unhealthy, or severely disabled, and that attempts of "therapeutic cloning" always result in the destruction of human beings at the embryonic stage of life when their stem cells are harvested.

(e) The prospect of creating new human life solely to be exploited ("reproductive cloning") or destroyed ("therapeutic cloning") in these ways has been condemned on moral grounds by many, as displaying a profound disrespect for life.

(f) The distinction between "therapeutic" and "reproductive" cloning is a false distinction scientifically because both begin with the creation of a human being at the embryonic stage of life, one destined for implantation in a womb, one destined for destructive farming of its stem cells. Regardless of its ultimate destiny, all human embryos are simultaneously human beings.

(g) It will be nearly impossible to ban only attempts at "reproductive cloning" if "therapeutic cloning" is allowed because:

(1) Cloning would take place within the privacy of a doctor-patient relationship;

(3) Any government effort to prevent the transfer of an existing cloned embryo, or to prevent birth once transfer has occurred would raise substantial moral, legal, and practical issues.

II. Based on the findings under paragraph I, it is the purpose of this act to prohibit the use of cloning technology to initiate the development of new human beings at the embryonic stage of life for any purpose, therapeutic or reproductive.

2 New Chapter; Human Cloning Prohibition Act. Amend RSA by inserting after chapter 141-I the following new chapter:

141-J:1 Title. This chapter may be known and cited as the "Human Cloning Prohibition Act."

I. "Embryo" means an organism of the species homo sapiens from the single cell stage to 8 weeks development.

II. "Fetus" means an organism of the species homo sapiens from 8 weeks development until complete expulsion or extraction from a woman's body, or removal from an artificial womb or other similar environment designed to nurture the development of such organism.

III. "Human cloning" means human asexual reproduction, accomplished by introducing the genetic material of a human somatic cell into an oocyte whose nucleus has been removed or inactivated, to produce a living organism with a human or predominantly human genetic constitution.

V. "Somatic cell" means a cell having a complete set of chromosomes obtained from a living or deceased human body at any stage of development.

141-J:3 Prohibitions. It shall be unlawful for any person or entity, public or private, to intentionally or knowingly:

IV. Transfer or receive, in whole or in part, any oocyte, embryo, fetus, or human somatic cell, for the purpose of human cloning.

141-J:4 Exceptions. Nothing in this chapter shall restrict areas of scientific research not specifically prohibited by this chapter, including in vitro fertilization, the administration of fertility enhancing drugs, and research in the use of nuclear transfer or other cloning techniques to produce molecules, DNA, tissues, organs, plants, animals other than humans, or cells other than human embryos.

I. Any person who violates the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $250,000 if a natural person or $1,000,000 if any other person. In addition, any person who derives pecuniary gain from a violation of this chapter shall be assessed a civil penalty of not more than an amount equal to the amount of the gross gain multiplied by 2.

II. In addition to the civil penalty under paragraph I, any person or entity violating the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a felony.

III. Any physician, licensed pursuant to RSA 329, who violates this chapter shall be subject to disciplinary action under RSA 329:17.

IV. Any business incorporated pursuant to RSA 293-A which violates the provisions of this chapter shall have its certificate of authority revoked.

V. Any violation of this chapter may be the basis (a) for denying an application for, (b) for denying an application for the renewal of, or (c) for revoking any license, permit, certificate, or any other form of permission required to practice or engage in a trade, occupation, or profession regulated under title XXX.

141-J-6 Severability. If any provision of this chapter or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the chapter which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this chapter are severable.

3 New Subparagraph; Human Cloning. Amend RSA 329:17, VI by inserting after subparagraph (k) the following new subparagraph:

The Administrative Office of the Courts stated this bill establishes civil and criminal penalties for violations of the human cloning prohibition act. Jurisdiction for the cases would be in the Superior Court, with appeal to the Supreme Court. The Office is unable to determine how many cases may result, therefor, they are unable to estimate the fiscal impact on the Judicial Branch.

The Judicial Council stated this bill establishes a new criminal felony charge, as well as civil penalties. For purposes of determining the fiscal impact, it is assumed that any cases arising from the enactment of this law for which the Indigent Defense Fund may be liable, will, in the first instance be handled by the public defender or contract attorneys who accept these cases on a fixed fee basis of $687.50 for each felony charge. If an assigned counsel attorney must be used, the hourly rate of $60 with a fee cap of $3,000 for felony cases will apply. If a motion to exceed the fee cap is approved and/or "services other than counsel" are approved, these will also be chargeable to the Indigent Defense Fund. The Council is unable to predict the number of cases or trials, which may arise as a result of the passage of this legislation, therefor, they are unable to estimate the dollar amount of the anticipated costs of such representation.

The Department of Corrections is unable to predict how many, if any, individuals would be incarcerated as result of this legislation. The average cost of incarceration for FY 2000 was $20,557 per inmate. The average cost of probation/parole supervision was $840 per inmate.

The Department of Justice has stated any fiscal impact associated with this bill will be assumed within the existing budget.