Once More Into the Breach

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As noted recently by a number of commentators, the State of the Union address suggests that efforts to criminalize therapeutic cloning and embryonic stem cell research in the US will continue.

Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) and Rep. Dave Weldon (R-Florida) have been trying to push their anti-human-cloning bills through Congress since 2001, with Bush's unofficial stamp of approval. If either bill becomes law, researchers who violate the law would face up to $1 million in fines and jail time. Such a law could also put a kink in California's stem-cell initiative, which dedicates $3 billion to stem-cell research over the next decade, and could cause problems for similar efforts in New Jersey, Maryland, Wisconsin and several other states.
"I think what we have here is a real civil war over stem cells, and if the president has his way with this policy and we see the Brownback bill passes, it's going to undercut every single state funding initiative for stem-cell research,"

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"I would expect to see the Weldon and Brownback bills reintroduced soon. ... What's interesting about the president's statement is that he goes further than Brownback in seeking a ban on all embryo creation for research, whether through (somatic cell nuclear transfer) or in vitro techniques, and states his intention to work with Congress to get this into law."

Federal criminalization of this science will wreck important research into cures for age-related conditions - diabetes, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, cancer, and many more - and block a greater understanding of biochemical processes. It will drive away the billions in private funding still waiting in the wings. So much damage has been done and time wasted already - hundreds of thousands of people continue to suffer and die each and every day.

It is a good idea to make our opinions known before this goes much further. A sample letter to your elected representatives can be found at the Longevity Meme; I strongly urge to take it as a basis for your own letter. You can find fax information for your representatives at Congress.org - a fax is much more likely to be read than any other form of communication with politicians in the US.