The bill on cloning – introduced last week – would ban reproductive cloning, as well as therapeutic cloning for research intended to create custom stem cells to repair damaged nerves and tissues.
Supporters said the measure would prevent science from moving ahead of ethics, but critics fear it will inhibit stem-cell research.
It passed 59 to 38, generally along party lines. Two members did not vote but indicated their preferences; they split 1 to 1.
Supporters of the ban said it was important for the state to take a stand before technology moves beyond many people’s moral beliefs.