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November 1, 2001
The Honorable Tom Harkin
The Honorable Arlen Specter
RE: Amendments to Ban Human Cloning
We understand several amendments may be offered to the Labor, HHS and Education Appropriations Bill that would ban all human cloning and designate certain scientific research and techniques unlawful. These scientific techniques are vital to advancing medical discovery and finding cures and effective treatments for a variety of chronic diseases and/or disabilities. We are writing to express our opposition to these proposals. Let us be clear. We oppose reproductive cloning - the cloning of a human being. It is unsafe and unethical. We agree with the conclusions of the National Bioethics Advisory Commission (NBAC) that it is unacceptable for anyone in the public or private sector, whether in a research or clinical setting, to create a human child using somatic cell nuclear transfer technology. However, as we understand it, one of the proposed amendments prohibits the therapeutic use of somatic cell nuclear transfer technology for the treatment of human disease and/or disabilities and the importation of any product (effective treatment or cure) derived from use of this technology. This amendment puts at risk critical biomedical research that is vital to finding the cures for diseases and disabilities that affect millions of Americans. Diabetes, various cancers, HIV/AIDS, spinal cord injuries, ALS, strokes, cystic fibrosis, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and other illnesses are likely to benefit from the advances achieved by biomedical researchers using therapeutic cloning technology. The amendment also bans the importation of any product derived from a [cloned] embryo. This means that if somatic cell nuclear transfer technology is used to develop a cure for a disease, that cure will not be available to American patients. Such a ban would deny the American public access to treatments and cures available to citizens of other nations. The Senate must be sure that any legislative action only bans cloning to create a human being and does no harm to biomedical research. In July 2001, the National Institutes of Health issued a report that emphasized the importance of somatic cell nuclear transfer technology as essential for the advancement of regenerative medicine and stem cell research. A ban on therapeutic cloning would have a devastating impact on this important area of biomedical research, which has the potential to treat deadly and debilitating diseases. This amendment and others must be opposed. Please keep patients' concerns in mind as you proceed in analyzing this very complicated issue. Sincerely,
The Alliance for Aging Research
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