Alliance Urges Congress to Act Quickly on the Passage of Cloning Bill
Published February 5, 2003
Washington, D.C. – The Alliance for Aging Research today commended Senators Hatch (R-UT), Feinstein (D-CA), Specter (R-PA), Kennedy (D-MA) and Harkin (D-IA) for introducing the “Human Cloning Ban and Stem Cell Research Protection Act of 2003.” The bill provides the greatest hope yet for patients suffering from life-threatening diseases by allowing promising medical research to discover cures, while forbidding the unethical act of cloning a human being.
“It is important that this bill pass the Senate and pass quickly,” said Daniel Perry, executive director for the not-for-profit Alliance and a vice president of the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research (CAMR). “Congress has an opportunity to accelerate the search for cures for many tragic and disabling diseases. Without a governmental green light to pursue effective solutions from regenerative medicine, including stem cells and new cell-based therapies, we may be left without the tools we will need to navigate the shoals of an unprecedented aging of our population.”
The new Senate bill draws a clear distinction between reproductive cloning and somatic cell nuclear transfer (therapeutic cloning), and it appropriately applies strict Federal provisions on human subject research to assure safe and proper study of the potential of therapeutic cloning. “This bill properly prohibits human reproductive cloning, while setting in place the necessary medical and ethical guidelines to allow important and beneficial medical research to continue,” added Perry. “Misguided attempts to ban research will drive valuable science and scientific talent underground and abroad to the great detriment of patients and their families.”
For an interview with Daniel Perry, executive director of the Alliance for Aging Research, please call Amber McCracken at 202-293-2856, x116 or on her cell at 703-599-0134.
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Founded in 1986, the Alliance for Aging Research is a nonprofit, independent organization dedicated to supporting and accelerating the pace of medical discoveries to vastly improve the universal human experience of aging. The Alliance combines the interests of top scientists, public officials, business executives and foundation leaders to promote a greater national investment in research and new technologies that will prepare our nation for the coming senior boom, and improve the quality of life for today’s older generation.