Tuesday, April 23, 2002
Federalism and cloning: Louder is right that cloning is of sufficient moral import that we should have a national policy (also because if one state allows cloning, all the research facilities will move there, undermining the point of a ban). As to the constitutionality, I do not know what grant of power the proposed ban relies upon -- the Commerce Clause, presumably. If so, the problem is with Supreme Court precedent that mangles the Commerce Clause into something just short of a grant of full police power to the feds. Therefore, the Supreme Court should overrule its Commerce Clause jurisprudence and restore some sanity to the balance between the federal government and the states. Then, we should enact a constitutional amendment banning cloning -- because the theory of federalism should not stand in our way, but the text of the Constitution, as it stands, probably should stand in our way but does not because of wacko Supreme Court precedent. Unless someone can come up with some other clause in the Constitution besides the Commerce Clause on which to hang a ban?
# posted by Peter @ 6:13 PM 
