Cloning in Mississippi

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – A longtime Mississippi lawmaker has filed a bill to ban human cloning, although he says he doesn’t know why he filed it, who requested it or even whether there’s any possibility of researchers trying to make clones.

The bill by Republican Rep. Jeff Smith of Columbus is nearly identical to one that passed the state House but died in the Senate in 2006.

Back then, opponents expressed concern that outlawing cloning would block the possibility of stem cell research that could lead to treatment or cures for some diseases.

Jack Mazurak, a spokesman for the University of Mississippi Medical Center, says nobody at the state’s only research hospital is attempting cloning.

Pro-Life Mississippi says on its website that it opposes cloning, but Smith says he hasn’t heard from the group.