Washington D.C., Dec 2, 2003 / 22:00 pm
A bill banning the patenting of human organisms must be approved by the Senate to prevent the commodifying and marketing human beings, said Cardinal William Keeler in a letter to Senator Bill Frist.
In a letter to the majority leader, dated Dec. 2, the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee for Pro-Life Activities urged that the Weldon Amendment, which prevents the patenting of human organisms, be included in an omnibus appropriations bill that is currently being deliberated in Congress.
Florida congressman Dave Weldon sponsored legislation that would impose a total ban on all human cloning and the patenting of human organisms.
Weldon’s amendment reaffirms “an internal policy that has guided the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) since 1987, reflecting a common-sense understanding that no member of the human race at any stage of development is merely an invention or property to be licensed, bought and sold,” said the cardinal, who is also the archbishop of Baltimore.