KEEPING CLONING ETHICAL IN THE LONE STAR STATE

CHOOSING SCIENCE OVER SPECTACLE

Texas stands at a crossroads. As new genetic technologies race ahead, our laws must keep pace to ensure that science serves life, not the other way around. Senate Bill 2025 establishes a temporary moratorium on cloning and genetic modification in long-gestation mammals, such as horses, cattle, elephants, and whales, to protect both animal welfare and scientific integrity.

This bill is not anti-science. It is a call for responsibility, transparency, and humane standards while research continues safely in laboratories. Rather than ignoring precautions and skipping to cloning the animal that will generate the most headlines (the woolly mammoth, for example), companies and scientists will have to conduct their early experiments on smaller species, where pregnancies carry fewer risks, before advancing to larger animals with long and complicated gestation periods. This ensures that breakthroughs in cloning and gene editing proceed responsibly, guided by evidence, safety, and compassion, rather than by publicity or profit. Our goal is to prioritize the science over the spectacle.

THIRTY YEARS OF RESEARCH WITH LITTLE TO SHOW

Since the cloning of Dolly the Sheep in 1996, scientists have refined their tools but not solved the core biological problem. Almost three decades later, the vast majority of animal cloning attempts still fail. Across species, studies routinely show failure rates above 90 percent, meaning that for every one successful birth, dozens (if not hundreds) of embryos or fetuses die before maturity. Many cloned animals that do survive suffer from organ defects, immune disorders, or shortened lifespans.

This persistent record of failure underscores why large animals, with long and complex gestation periods, face the greatest risks. Every miscarriage or malformed fetus represents not just a scientific setback but a moral failure when living creatures are treated as test data rather than sentient beings.

Technology alone cannot justify suffering at this scale. Until cloning and gene-editing techniques can be proven safe, predictable, and humane, it is both scientifically and ethically unsound to continue full-scale experiments in long-gestation mammals. S.B. 2025 recognizes this reality and places a temporary prohibition on the practice, giving science time to advance responsibly instead of rushing ahead at living animals’ expense.

THE ETHICAL USE OF SCIENCE

S.B. 2025 is about ensuring that biotechnology serves a genuine moral purpose. True conservation science protects living species, ecosystems, and the public trust—not corporate image or viral headlines.

When cloning or gene editing is misused, it risks turning complex creatures into mere spectacles. The global fascination with attempts to “revive” extinct species such as the woolly mammoth illustrates this danger. While emotionally charged, such projects often divert attention from real conservation work, such as habitat protection, anti-poaching efforts, and genetic diversity among endangered species alive today.

Ethical biotechnology should serve restoration, not reanimation. It must prioritize animals’ well-being, ecological stability, and transparency over media attention or commercial novelty. S.B. 2025 reinforces that distinction by pausing risky procedures in large, sentient mammals until the ethical and scientific frameworks catch up with technological capability.

WHAT THIS BILL DOES

• Prohibits creating, implanting, or carrying to term cloned or gene-edited embryos in animals with gestation periods over 250 days.

• Bans importing pregnant cloned or gene-edited animals into Texas.

• Protects veterinarians who treat affected animals but forbids participation in illegal procedures.

• Expands the Texas Animal Health Commission’s authority to investigate and enforce compliance.

• Sunsets in 2031, with a full legislative review in 2030.

WHAT THIS BILL DOES NOT DO

• It does not restrict standard breeding or in vitro fertilization.

• It does not stop stem cell or genetic research carried out ethically in laboratories.

• It does not interfere with naturally occurring pregnancies or responsible veterinary care.

YOUR SUPPORT MATTERS

Meaningful change in science and policy only happens when citizens speak up. Every message to a legislator, every shared post, and every conversation can make the difference between this bill passing or stalling. S.B. 2025 protects animals, strengthens ethical research, and upholds Texas’ leadership in responsible innovation, but it needs public backing to become law.

By supporting this moratorium, you are not opposing science. You are standing for careful science: science that respects life and operates with accountability. The animals affected by these experiments cannot speak for themselves, but you can.

Tell your local lawmakers that Texas values humane progress. Encourage friends, colleagues, and local organizations to join the movement. Together, we can ensure that S.B. 2025 is not just a policy proposal, but a moral commitment to compassion, integrity, and common sense.