Bill banning human cloning advances in Minn. House

A Minnesota House panel has advanced a bill that would ban human cloning in the state.

Members of the House Judiciary Policy and Finance Committee approved the measure Tuesday on a voice vote.

The anti-abortion group Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life is pushing for the legislation, which would make human cloning a crime.

Rep. Bob Dettmer, R-Forest Lake, described his bill as a preventative measure and a moral issue. Dettmer said his bill will not prohibit agriculture research dealing with the cloning of plants or animals.

"It just deals with human cloning, from the embryonic state," Dettmer said. "The research, maybe in other parts of the world, might be going on out there, but we just feel it's not for Minnesota."

The bill also makes it illegal to knowingly import an embryo produced by human cloning. The Senate Health and Human Services Committee was scheduled to take up a similar bill Tuesday night.