HB 0285, Engrossed 1 2003
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to human cloning; creating s. 877.269,
3	F.S.; providing legislative findings and intent; creating
4	s. 877.27, F.S., the "Human Cloning Prohibition and Stem
5	Cell Research Protection Act of 2002"; providing
6	definitions; providing that it is unlawful to perform or
7	attempt to perform human cloning, to participate or assist
8	in an attempt to perform human cloning, or to ship or
9	receive for any purpose an embryo produced by human
10	cloning or any product derived from such embryo; providing
11	criminal and civil penalties; providing construction with
12	respect to scientific research; providing an effective
13	date.
14
15	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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17	Section 1. Section 877.269, Florida Statutes, is created
18	to read:
19	877.269 Human Cloning Prohibition and Stem Cell Research
20	Protection Act of 2002; legislative findings and intent.--
21	(1) It is a finding of the Legislature that recent medical
22	and technological advances have had tremendous benefit to
23	patients, and to society as a whole, and that biomedical
24	research for the purpose of scientific investigation of disease
25	or cure of a disease or illness should be preserved and
26	protected and not be impeded by regulations involving the
27	cloning of an entire human being.
28	(2) It is a finding of the Legislature that molecular
29	biology involving human cells, genes, tissues, and organs has
30	been used to meet medical needs globally for 20 years and has
31	proved a powerful tool in the search for cures, leading to
32	effective medicines to treat cystic fibrosis, diabetes, heart
33	disease, stroke, hemophilia, and HIV/AIDS.
34	(3) It is the intent of the Legislature to prohibit the
35	creation of a human being through division and implantation of a
36	blastocyst, zygote, or embryo created through somatic cell
37	nuclear transfer technology and to protect the citizens of this
38	state from potential abuse deriving from cloning technologies.
39	This prohibition is not intended to apply to the cloning of
40	human cells, genes, tissues, or organs that would not result in
41	the replication of an entire human being; nor is this
42	prohibition intended to apply to in vitro fertilization, the
43	administration of fertility-enhancing drugs, or other medical
44	procedures used to assist a woman in becoming or remaining
45	pregnant, so long as that procedure is not specifically intended
46	to result in the gestation or birth of a child who is
47	genetically identical to another conceptus, embryo, fetus, or
48	human being, living or dead.
49	Section 2. Section 877.27, Florida Statutes, is created to
50	read:
51	877.27 Human Cloning Prohibition and Stem Cell Research
52	Protection Act of 2002.--
53	(1) POPULAR NAME.--Sections 877.269 and 877.27 shall be
54	known by the popular name of the "Human Cloning Prohibition and
55	Stem Cell Research Protection Act of 2002."
56	(2) DEFINITIONS.--As used in this section:
57	(a) "Human cloning" means asexual human reproduction
58	accomplished by implanting or attempting to implant the product
59	of nuclear transplantation into a woman's uterus or a substitute
60	for a woman's uterus for the purpose of initiating or attempting
61	to initiate a human pregnancy or to create genetically identical
62	human beings by dividing a blastocyst, zygote, or embryo.
63	(b) "Asexual reproduction" means reproduction not
64	initiated by the union of oocyte and sperm.
65	(c) "Somatic cell" means a diploid cell, having a complete
66	set of chromosomes, obtained or derived from a living or
67	deceased human body at any stage of development.
68	(d) "Nuclear transplantation" means introducing the
69	nuclear material of a human somatic cell into a fertilized or
70	unfertilized oocyte from which the nucleus has been or will be
71	removed or inactivated.
72	(3) CLONING OF HUMAN BEINGS PROHIBITED.--It is unlawful
73	for any person or entity, public or private, to knowingly:
74	(a) Perform or attempt to perform human cloning.
75	(b) Participate or assist in an attempt to perform human
76	cloning.
77	(c) Ship or receive for any purpose an embryo produced by
78	human cloning or any product derived from such embryo.
79	(4) PENALTIES.--
80	(a) Any person who violates any provision of subsection
81	(3) commits a felony of the second degree, punishable as
82	provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, and shall be
83	sentenced to a minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years.
84	(b) Any person who violates any provision of subsection
85	(3) and derives pecuniary gain from such violation shall be
86	subject to a civil penalty of not less than $1 million and not
87	more than an amount equal to the amount of the gross pecuniary
88	gain derived from the violation multiplied by two, if that
89	amount is greater than $1 million.
90	(5) CONSTRUCTION.--Nothing in this section shall be
91	construed to restrict areas of biomedical, agricultural, and
92	scientific research not specifically prohibited by this section,
93	including using somatic cell nuclear transfer or other cloning
94	technologies to clone molecules, DNA, cells, plants, and
95	tissues.
96	Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.
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