Lobby to Prevent the Ban on Therapeutic Cloning

[cheesecake]

First I apologize for duplicating this post, I can't figure out another way. At the request of Jackie, I am copying this post for all family members to read. This is a very important issue and impacts not only your partner, child, or significant but also you. Please join the band wagon and send a letter off to show your support. I also urge you to pass it along to all of your family members and friends. After you have done that, please post to show the community tat in fact we are united in our efforts.
Thanks


Originally posted February 07, 2002 12:05 AM
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Patient Groups Fight U.S. Cloning Ban
Wed Feb 6,10:34 AM ET
By Julie Rovner
WASHINGTON (Reuters Health) - A coalition of groups representing patients and researchers urged the US Senate to reject a House-passed bill to ban all forms of human cloning, and instead endorsed a competing measure that would ban "reproductive cloning" but let cloning to produce stem cells for research proceed.

"An across-the-board ban on human cloning will dash the hopes of many Americans living lives that, like mine, are so radically, functionally and emotionally different than what they once were," Kris Gulden told a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Gulden, a former police officer and triathlete who was paralyzed in 1998 after being struck by a car, testified on behalf of the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research, whose members include leading universities as well as groups representing patients with diseases such as diabetes, cancer, Parkinson's and spinal cord injury.

While the coalition, in a statement, said it supports a ban on cloning intended to produce the live birth of a baby, it supports so-called "therapeutic cloning" in which embryos are created in order to derive embryonic stem cells. Such cloning "may prove to be a vital tool in allowing scientists to fully develop the promise of stem cell research," Gulden told the committee. In both cases, embryos are produced using a technique called somatic cell nuclear transfer.

"The research could allow a patient's own genetic material to be used to develop stem cell therapies specifically tailored to that individual's medical conditions, thus not triggering an immune rejection response," she said.

Backers of the House bill, however, said that patient groups are being given false hopes by research whose promise is largely yet to materialize. "Right now it is a purely theoretical construct," said Rep. David Weldon (R-FL), the sponsor of the House measure.

Weldon said only by banning all forms of cloning can a ban on reproductive cloning be assured. "You cannot have all of this research proceeding and prevent human cloning," he said. "It would only be a matter of time before a rogue physician, in defiance of the law, implants one of these embryos into a woman."

But Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), sponsor of one of the bills that would ban reproductive cloning but allow research cloning to proceed, sharply disagreed with that assertion. "We are all concerned about the sale of human organs or the transplant of organs from executed prisoners," she said. "But few people argue that the solution to these potential problems is to ban organ transplantation."

The Senate is expected to debate the competing cloning ban bills in late March.


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Posts: 715 | From: florida | Registered: July 24, 2001

Sue Pendleton
Moderator posted February 10, 2002 08:09 PM
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Know anyone in Loisiana?

If you know anyone in Lousiana, Senator Mary Landrieu signed onto the
Brownback bill and we need to let her know there are consequences -- the
ban
on importation, criminalization, research, etc.
I'll add contact information in a few.


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Posts: 372 | From: Maryland USA | Registered: July 24, 2001

marmalady
Moderator posted February 10, 2002 07:48 PM
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Yes, we sent our reply; also sent emails to everyone we know to do the same. Get a chain going!!!!
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Tough times don't last - tough people do.


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Posts: 205 | From: Bridgewater, NJ | Registered: August 03, 2001

cheesecake
Moderator posted February 10, 2002 05:39 PM
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Thanks Chris for the link

The link gives a quick, fast and easy way to participate. The letter is easily modified. Please post after you have added your voice. Lets let each other know that we are serious!! Also, please pass this along to friends and family members so they can add their support. This research can impact their life as much as it can ours.
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Posts: 272 | From: USA | Registered: August 19, 2001

Chris
Moderator posted February 10, 2002 01:47 PM
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C'mon everyone

Have you contacted CAMR today? Written / faxed your representatives?
Don't hesitate, this is extremely important to each of us.

www.stemcellfunding.org


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Posts: 283 | From: Littleton, CO, USA | Registered: July 30, 2001

Wise Young
Administrator posted February 10, 2002 04:11 AM
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Testimony by Kris Gulden

http://www.senate.gov/%7Ejudiciary/t...2st-gulden.htm
TESTIMONY FOR KRIS GULDEN
On Behalf of the
COALITION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF MEDICAL RESEARCH
Before the
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
February 5, 2002

Good morning Senator Feinstein and Members of the Committee. Thank you for the opportunity to testify t oday on the value of somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), commonly referred to as therapeutic cloning. My name is Kris Gulden, and I am here on behalf of the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research (CAMR). The Coalition is an organization comprised of universities, scientific and academic societies, patient's organizations, and other entities that are devoted to supporting stem cell research. In addition, I realize that today I am the voice of the millions of Americans living with MS, spinal cord injuries, ALS, Parkinson's Disease, and many other illnesses that may benefit from therapeutic cloning.

I, along with the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research, support efforts to prohibit human reproductive cloning. However, it is imperative that we protect important areas of medical research that offer hope to millions of Americans. As a person living with paralysis caused by a spinal cord injury, I know how urgently a cure is needed. I do not expect a cure tomorrow, or even next year. And I do not intend to overstate the promise of the research. But how can you overstate hope?

On May 26, 1998, I set out on a bicycle ride that would change my life. When I began, I was a healthy, 31 year old-triathlete. I was employed as a police officer in Alexandria, Virginia. I never finished that ride; it was interrupted when I was struck from behind by a motor vehicle. In addition to a traumatic brain injury and a laundry list of broken bones, I sustained a spinal cord injury at the T4 level. The doctors told me that I had about a 20% chance of ever walking again. My friends and family had to incorporate the word "paraplegia" into their vocabularies. In an instant, my future was changed from adrenaline and thrill-seeking to wheelchairs and hand controls.

Six weeks after my accident, I discovered that I could move my legs. And in that instant, I discovered hope. I knew that if it were only a matter of strengthening my leg muscles, I would in fact walk again. And within three months, I was walking with a rolling walker.

In the summer of 1999 I went to the University of Miami to go through EMG biofeedback training. This proved to be an exciting therapy that gave me even more optimism that I would one day walk again. However, a rare complication of a spinal cord injury - a disease called syringomyelia - has caused me to lose considerable function. I have not, though, lost hope. I have gone back to Miami for additional sessions of biofeedback, and I remain committed to the idea of walking again. Additionally, the potential for new therapies like cloning gives hope to so many people.

I understand that the word "cloning" has caused many individuals to imagine the worst possible abuses. But allow me to make a critical distinction between the use of cloning technology to create a baby - reproductive cloning - and the therapeutic cloning techniques central to the production of breakthrough medicines, diagnostics, and potentially vaccines to treat diseases like Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, diabetes, heart disease, various cancers, and even paralysis resulting from spinal cord injury. Therapeutic cloning cannot produce a whole human being. This work should be allowed to move forward.

Somatic cell nuclear transfer may prove to be a vital tool in allowing scientists to fully develop the promise of stem cell research. Somatic cell nuclear transfer involves the use of a donor's unfertilized egg and a patient's own cells. The research could allow a patient's own genetic material to be used to develop stem cell therapies specifically tailored to that individual's medical condition, thus not triggering an immune rejection response. In other words, using somatic cell nuclear transfer could repair patients with their own cells.

Given the scientific potential in this area, we strongly oppose any legislative action that would ban research related to therapeutic cloning. This would include criminalizing the research or the researchers, and prohibiting the importation of therapies derived from somatic cell nuclear transfer in other countries.

Ms. Chairperson, it is likely that we will continue to be confronted with scientific advances that pose difficult social and ethical questions. The present momentum in biomedical research, and the profound implications of what we are learning, will inevitably raise public concerns. Yet an across-the-board ban on human cloning will dash the hopes of many Americans living lives that, like mine, are so radically, functionally, and emotionally different than what they once were.

In my dreams, I still walk. I run, I play basketball, and I wear the uniform of the Alexandria Police Department. When the sun rises each morning, it brings reality with it. I rise to the sight of a wheelchair, yet I rise with the hope that maybe this will be the morning I can move my legs.

On behalf of the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research, the countless Americans who stand to benefit from therapeutic cloning, and the family members and friends who love them, I again thank the Committee for its deliberations and for the opportunity to speak to this issue.


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Posts: 2573 | From: New Brunswick, NJ, USA | Registered: July 23, 2001

Wise Young
Administrator posted February 10, 2002 01:26 AM
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The Senate Debate Has Already Started, and We're Behind

Courtesey of Bill Rainey

quote:
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From: camresearch@yahoo.com
Sent: Friday, February 08, 2002 9:57 PM
To: wcrtexas@msn.com
Subject: ACTION ALERT

st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }
Stem Cell Action Alert

URGENT

Contact Your Senators Now about Therapeutic Cloning!

The Senate has already held hearings on legislation by Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) that would ban all cloning including therapeutic cloning; put researchers in prison; and deny patients the benefit of any therapies developed from therapeutic cloning outside the United States.

The legislation could be a disaster for the nearly 100 million Americans who suffer from cancer, Alzheimer's, diabetes, hepatitis, Parkinson's and other devastating diseases for which treatments must still be found.

The nation's leading scientists, including two prestigious committees of the National Academy of Sciences, have declared that therapeutic cloning (or somatic cell nuclear transfer technology, SCNT) could allow 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 without causing the patient's immune system to reject the therapy.

Unfortunately, most Senate offices report that they have heard only from supporters of the Brownback bills, not from people who want to realize the promise of stem cell research. Please contact your Senators now to let them know that SCNT is vital to stem cell research and must NOT be criminalized.

Because of last year's Anthrax attacks, the best way to contact your Senators is by a fax to the Washington or a local district office. To find the fax numbers, go to our Web site, www.stemcellfunding.org, click on Find Your Rep , and fill in your state's name. The Senators' contact information is at the bottom of the page.

Please edit the following letter to reflect your personal reasons for supporting stem cell research and SCNT.

I am writing to voice my support for protecting somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), or therapeutic cloning, which may prove to be a vital tool in allowing scientists to fully develop the promise of stem cell research.

As President Bush stated in his address to the nation on August 9, 2001, stem cells derived from embryos have unique potential to improve the lives of those who suffer from devastating diseases and conditions, including juvenile diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, cancer and spinal cord injury. Additionally, SCNT research could allow a patient's own genetic material to be used to develop stem cell therapies specifically tailored to that individual's medical condition, thus not triggering an immune rejection response. In other words, using SCNT could repair patients with their own cells.

The nation's leading scientists, including committees of the National Academy of Sciences, have endorsed the scientific potential of SCNT, and have come out strongly against forbidding this research. Therefore, I strongly oppose any legislative or regulatory action that would ban research related to SCNT, including criminalizing the research or the researchers, and prohibiting the importation of therapies derived from SCNT in other countries.

The men, women, and children who are suffering from life-threatening diseases are in a race against time. It is our responsibility to make sure that they benefit as quickly as possible from the very best that science and technology has to offer.

I look forward to your support.

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Posts: 2573 | From: New Brunswick, NJ, USA | Registered: July 23, 2001

Tibor
Member posted February 10, 2002 12:37 AM
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e-mail on cloning

I had send the enclosed e-mail to Representative
Weldon:
Honorable David Weldon, Feb 9 2002


I am leading a small informal group of professional patients and their friends involved in scientific research. We use metaanalysis and reanalysis in our research. I suffer a very rare neurologic condition with significant morbidity and limitations. I learned that in best science will come up with a proper diagnosis to my condition in my lifetime, treatment or cure is not even on the horizon ( my condition is in a confused nosology). That lead me in 1993 to explore patient initiated scientific research.

I implore you to reconsider your position on therapeutic cloning. My research falls into extracellular areas, therefore I am not an expert on cellular processes. I justify my support for therapeutic cloning because:

As a member of CareCure Community at Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience at Rutgers NJ I learned that stem cell research is essential to cure spinal cord injury, my visit to open houses convinced me that the research should be allowed on humanitarian grounds

A ban could motivate violators in the impulsive world of science, with unwanted consequences

Ethical review boards could adequately supervise cloning


Tibor Szekely
39-30 59 St B3
Woodside NY 1377
con-search@email.msn.com


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Posts: 6 | From: Woodside NY USA | Registered: January 05, 2002

Chris
Moderator posted February 09, 2002 02:16 PM
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Leo, Seneca, Mkowalski99

Here's the link and bill being proposed here in Colorado. Pretty harsh.
www.leg.state.co.us/2002a/pubhome.nsf

The bill # is; HB02-1073

Proposed by Sean Mitchell

We have to keep making our voices heard. Don't quit. Keep fighting.


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Posts: 283 | From: Littleton, CO, USA | Registered: July 30, 2001

Wise Young
Administrator posted February 09, 2002 01:28 PM
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Kris Gulden (the policewoman who testified to the Senate) came to an Open House at Rutgers on February 1. She was great and that Open House lasted until nearly 10 pm. From all accounts (by many people), she had a large impact on the Senators and she was quoted by many newspaper articles. Wise.
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Posts: 2573 | From: New Brunswick, NJ, USA | Registered: July 23, 2001

seneca
Moderator posted February 09, 2002 06:01 AM
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Tibor, you can contact Rep. David Weldon (R-FL-15th), the sponsor of the House measure that seeks to ban both reproductive and therapeutic cloning at:

Washington Office: 216 CHOB

Office Phone: 202 225-3671

Office Fax: 202 225-3516

Email: fla15@hr.house.gov

District Office: Melbourne

District Phone: 407 632-1776


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Posts: 715 | From: florida | Registered: July 24, 2001

Tibor
Member posted February 07, 2002 07:34 PM
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Seneca
where can I e-mail my dissmay on the matter?

Tibor


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Posts: 6 | From: Woodside NY USA | Registered: January 05, 2002

Leo
Member posted February 07, 2002 04:37 PM
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Chris, Do you have a bill number and the link to CO's legislature site? We probably should pound them with letters and emails from us in other states.
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Posts: 27 | From: Yankton, South Dakota | Registered: July 25, 2001

mkowalski99
Member posted February 07, 2002 04:16 PM
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Chris

You've got to be kidding... the penalties can apply to patients who go out of country too? Quick, somebody give Bush a pretzel!
Is this even constitutional?


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Posts: 183 | From: toronto, ontario, canada | Registered: July 27, 2001

Chris
Moderator posted February 07, 2002 01:19 PM
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Thanks Seneca

We have a similar bill being proposed here in CO that would not only ban all cloning but would also impose a $1,000,000 fine and/or a 10 yr prison sentence if anyone (as a patient for example)leaves the state to have a stem cell injection or related procedure.
Potentially then it would mean that if this bill passes and I went to lets say Russia for a stem cell injection then upon return I could be thrown in jail and fined.

We all need to pay close attention to our legislators and the legislative goings on. If its happening in Colorado then chances are its happening in other states.


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Posts: 283 | From: Littleton, CO, USA | Registered: July 30, 2001

[marmalady]

Thanks, Cheesecake! I just emailed you on how to copy a post - guess I missed you!

To all caregivers - This is important! Please respond, and send it to other family members, friends, neighbors, pastors, delivery boys - well, you get what I'm saying!

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Tough times don't last - tough people do.

[Wise Young]

Cheesecake,

One option is for you or somebody to edit the material on the cloning into an article which you can send to me and I can post it as an article. You can then put the active link in the forums...

Unfortunately, I find myself a bit too overwhelmed with paperwork at the present to do the editing until next week.

Wise.

[Leo]

Civil Justice & Judiciary

Their serving on this committee that's debating this bill now. Remember Research, Research, Research. Drop them a note

Bacon, Bob = repbobbacon@qwest.net

Boyd, Betty = bettyboyd@qwest.net

Jahn, Cheri = cherijahn@qwest.net

Johnson, Steve = repsjohnso@qwest.net

Lee, Don = repdonlee@qwest.net

Madden, Alice = alicemadden@qwest.net

Mitchell, Shawn = go figure a lawyer shawnmitch@aol.com

Snook, Jim = jim.snook@qwest.net

Stengel, Joe Cap: 303-866-2953

[Leo]

That was for Colorado's bill

[cheesecake]

Keeping this post at the top. lease pass this on, it is of tremendous impact to you and your family member.