The Wisconsin state Senate passed a bill Wednesday that bans all human cloning in the state, a move that UW-Madison officials said will negatively impact the university's scientific research reputation and endanger stem cell research.
Mike Prentiss, spokesperson for state Sen. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, a co-sponsor of the bill, said the senator does not feel it is appropriate for life to be created for the sole purpose of being destroyed for scientific research.
\A lot of the opponents of the bill, including Gov. Doyle and some of the Democrats in the Legislature, were trying to confuse the issue today and make it about some kind of ban on all stem cell research and that's not what it is at all,"" Prentiss said.
According to Prentiss, Sen. Fitzgerald said the university is unwilling to give straight answers about what kind of research is going on at UW-Madison.
State Sen. Fred Risser, D-Madison, said there is no need to worry about the bill going into effect.
""The governor has publicly pledged to veto the bill,"" he said.
Risser said the bill sends a negative message and gives the perception that the Wisconsin Legislature does not support UW-Madison's stem cell research efforts.
An amendment was proposed that would have made the distinction between therapeutic research and reproductive research, but it failed 17-16.
""I think [Sen. Fitzgerald] is wrong because it does affect the research because if this bill is passed it would make no distinction between [therapeutic research and reproductive research],"" Risser said.
UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley's response to the bill was also unfavorable.
""It is a message that special interests can close off legitimate avenues of scientific inquiry,"" he said.
Wiley also said the bill effectively criminalizes a promising area of biomedical research.
In a statement released Wednesday, Gov. Doyle said the real purpose of the bill is to restrict stem cell research, which holds potential to cure diseases like juvenile diabetes and Parkinson's.
A spokesperson from the governor's office told The Daily Cardinal that Gov. Doyle does not understand how anyone could tell a child suffering from one of these diseases that politics is more important than finding a cure.
""Allowing our scientists to search for cures to the world's deadliest diseases isn't about being liberal or conservative,"" Doyle said in a statement. ""And respect for human life means you don't turn your back on cures that can save lives.""
