From: J. Hughes (jhughes@changesurfer.com)
Date: Mon May 06 2002 - 20:11:08 MDT
Join National Call-In to Support Therapeutic Cloning Research -- this
Wednesday, May 8
To everyone who has signed our petition to keep therapeutic cloning
research legal,
Thank you for your support on this important issue. We hope that you
will help us spread the word about Call Your Senators Day, Wednesday May
8th, to everyone you know. This effort is being organized by the
Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research (CAMR), an umbrella
group of nationally-recognized patient organizations, universities,
scientific societies, foundations, and individuals with life-threatening
illnesses.
With the Senate debate on therapeutic cloning research now only days
away, and Senator Hatch having announced his support of our position, we
have considerable political momentum. But we cannot afford to let up
now. Please join us on May 8 by calling your Senators to express your
support for therapeutic cloning research.
Best,
Raymond Barglow and Richard Arvedon
>From the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research
Urgent! Action Alert
MAY 8TH CALL YOUR SENATORS
Call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 to be connected to the
offices of the Senators in your state.
Thank you for all of your hard work, but we cannot stop now. The Senate
will vote in the next few weeks on legislation that would ban somatic
cell nuclear transfer technology (SCNT, sometimes called therapeutic
cloning). The Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research (CAMR)
is coordinating a Call-Your-Senators Day, May 8th. Please spread the
word and ask your colleagues, friends and family to call the Capitol
Switchboard at 202-224-3121, and ask to speak with your Senators'
office. Tell them why you believe SCNT research must be allowed to
continue.
As you know, the Senate has already held hearings on S. 1899, a bill by
Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) that would
ban all cloning including SCNT; put researchers in prison; and deny
patients the benefit of any therapies developed from therapeutic cloning
outside the United States.
This week, Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Arlen Specter (R-PA), Dianne
Feinstein (D-CA) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA) have joined together to
sponsor S. 2439, legislation that would ban reproductive cloning to
create children, but permit privately funded research involving SCNT.
This legislation is widely supported among scientific, medical, and
patient groups. The Senate may vote on this bill as well.
WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?
Two Steps:
1. Click <http://www.camradvocacy.org/> to be taken to the website of
the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research. This site will
provide background information on the current debate.
2. Coordinate with your friends and family to call the Capitol
Switchboard, 202-224-3121, on May 8th and urge your Senators to SUPPORT
S. 2439, THE SPECTER/FEINSTEIN/HATCH/KENNEDY BILL AND OPPOSE S. 1899,
THE BROWNBACK/LANDRIEU BILL, which will criminalize potentially
life-saving medical research.
Make your support of SCNT known!!!!!
Message points for your call:
. Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is not the science fiction you
see in movies, but rather a reasonable and appropriate way to alleviate
the horrors faced by patients suffering from deadly and painful
diseases.
. Cloning is widely used, vital medical tool that has allowed scientists
and researchers to develop powerful new drugs; produce insulin and
useful bacteria in the lab; track the origins of biological weapons;
catch criminals and free innocent people; and produce new plants and
livestock to help feed an undernourished world population.
. The nation's leading scientists, including two prestigious committees
of the National Academy of Sciences, agree that cloning to reproduce
humans should be illegal, but that SCNT (or therapeutic cloning) should
be permitted.
. SCNT is a research technique to develop cells that can be used to
treat or cure chronic and degenerative diseases and disorders. The
process has nothing to do with sexual reproduction. Its sole purpose is
research to meet unmet medical needs.
. By moving stem cell research forward, SCNT could bring new hope to the
nearly 100 million Americans who suffer from cancer, Alzheimer's,
diabetes, hepatitis, Parkinson's disease and other devastating
conditions for which treatments must still be found.
. SCNT allows a patient's own genetic material to be used to develop
advanced stem cell therapies. These therapies-including transplants and
transfusions-- would be tailored to match each patient's specific
medical condition and dramatically reduce the possibility of causing the
patient's immune system to attack and reject the therapy.
The Brownback bill would have devastating results.
It would:
. Ban SCNT, or therapeutic cloning, cutting-off hope to millions of
Americans with life-threatening diseases;
. Make it illegal for U.S. citizens to seek SCNT treatment abroad;
. Send a U.S. scientist to jail for developing SCNT therapies in a petri
dish;
. Make it illegal for U.S. scientists to import SCNT therapies that were
developed in other countries.
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