Senate Bill No. 426
(By Senator McKenzie)
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[Introduced February 3, 2004; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §61-10-32, relating
to crimes against public policy generally; prohibiting human
and embryonic cloning; and prescribing criminal penalties for
violations of the section.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §61-10-32, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 10. CRIMES AGAINST PUBLIC POLICY.
§61-10-32. Cloning; penalties.
It is unlawful for anyone to participate in any activity
involving the cloning of any human being or human embryo.
Any person who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not
less than five thousand dollars or not more than ten thousand
dollars,
or imprisoned in a state correctional facility for not
less than one nor more than three years or, in the discretion of
the court, by both such fine and imprisonment. Nothing in this
section shall be construed or interpreted to endorse, allow, permit
or approve of any abortion.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to prohibit cloning of
human beings and embryos and to prescribe a criminal penalty for
violation of the provisions of the bill.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.