Human Cloning: Illegal in Massachusetts?

By Amy Contrada
August 16, 2001

Massachusetts law prohibits “use [of] any live human fetus whether before or after expulsion from its mother’s womb, for scientific, laboratory, research or other kind of experimentation.” The law goes on to define “fetus” as including “an embryo.”

Attorney Susan Gay, Executive Director of the Pro-Life Legal Defense Fund in Massachusetts, told Massachusetts News that she is not sure Advanced Cell Technology would be found in violation of Massachusetts law. Her group is intently studying the issue now to see how best to proceed. Her concern is over the law’s wording, “before or after expulsion from its mother’s womb,” which may not apply to lab-manufactured and lab-housed embryos.

She is now determining the various courses of action, including drafting more tightly worded legislation. Statutes in Minnesota and Louisiana provide good models, Gay said. Her group is also planning a public education campaign on the issues of stem cell research and human cloning.

Prof. Annas, at Boston University School of Medicine, says that the company’s present experiments “might open up the firm to prosecution” under current Massachusetts law.

Attorney Dan Avila of the Public Policy Office of the Massachusetts Catholic Conference told Massachusetts News that a federal ban on human cloning is our best bet, much better than any patchwork solution worked out state by state. The current Massachusetts law was drafted at a time when cloning was “science fiction,” he said. He is certain that the intent of the drafters, however, was to ban any work with human embryos, however or wherever they came into existence. He agrees with Gay that there is wiggle room in the wording of the Massachusetts law should a judge be convinced of the merit of the research.

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