Odd Mix of Activists Stands Together against Cloning

WASHINGTON--Activists on both sides of the abortion issue are joining forces this week to push for a total ban on human cloning.

The unusual coalition is lobbying for a bill that would impose a 10-year prison sentence and $1 million fine on scientists who practice cloning for reproduction or research.

That bill's chief sponsor is Rep. Dave Weldon, R-Fla., who opposes abortion. The measure is expected to be taken up as early as Thursday and move swiftly through the House Judiciary Committee.

A rival bill that would ban cloning to create human babies but permit cloning for research use has attracted less support. Its sponsor, Rep. James Greenwood, R-Pa., says the two bills seem destined to collide.

Cloning works by placing the nucleus of an adult cell into an egg cell from which the center has been removed, producing an embryo that is a genetic copy of the adult.

Cloning has been attempted with other mammals. In 1997, a cloned baby sheep was produced in Scotland from a cell taken from an adult animal. It was delivered by a surrogate...