Substantive Due Process and a Right to Clone (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
May 21, 2002 |
| Report Number |
RL31422 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Jon O. Shimabukuro, American Law Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
As Congress continues to explore whether restrictions on cloning should be imposed, this report
will
consider whether a right to clone may be found under the Due Process Clauses of the Fifth and
Fourteenth Amendments. In past cases, the U.S. Supreme Court has recognized certain personal
rights as being fundamental and protected from government interference. Some of those cases
involve various reproductive matters, including procreation and childbearing. If a right to clone is
found to be fundamental, any infringement on that right would be evaluated with strict scrutiny, the
most rigorous form of judicial review, if challenged. Because government action often fails to
withstand strict scrutiny, the judicial recognition of a fundamental right to clone could raise
questions about legislation that would prohibit or limit cloning. However, if a fundamental right to
clone is not found, government regulation of cloning would be subject to rational basis review, the
most deferential level of judicial review.
