From: GBurch1@aol.com
Date: Mon Feb 05 2001 - 06:39:59 MST
BIO Asks Bush to Continue Ban on Human Cloning
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Feb 01 - The lead lobbying organization for
the biotechnology industry on Thursday urged President George W. Bush
to support the current voluntary ban on human cloning.
The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) told the president that
the moratorium should be continued "because we view this specific
cloning technology as unsafe and because the prospect of cloning
humans raises profound moral, religious and bioethical concerns."
BIO's call for a continued ban on human cloning follows recent news
that an international group of reproductive experts plans to launch
an effort to clone humans on behalf of infertile couples.
The industry group first voiced its support of a ban on cloning
humans in 1997, after scientists announced the cloning of the sheep
named Dolly. "Today the technology to clone a human being still is
not safe and the full range of moral and ethical concerns still has
not been addressed," BIO President Carl F. Feldbaum said in his
letter to Bush.
BIO, which represents 940 biotechnology companies and academic
institutions across the country, stressed that it supports cloning of
specific human cells, genes and other tissues. As Feldbaum explained,
"These techniques are integral to the production of breakthrough
medicines, diagnostics and vaccines to treat heart attacks, various
cancers, Alzheimer's, diabetes, hepatitis and other diseases."
Feldbaum's letter attempts to distinguish between what he calls "very
legitimate biomedical research" and attempts to clone a child.
As far as human cloning, "We don't feel that the science is there
yet," he said. "It took 270-some attempts to clone Dolly, a sheep,
and those odds even now if they're reduced to 1 in 100 are really non-
acceptable."
BIO also hopes to head off backlash against the biotechnology
industry; public outcry over human cloning could result in
legislative proposals that interfere with efforts to cure intractable
diseases, Feldbaum suggested.
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