Text of the Nobel Laureate's statement follows article:

NOTE: Senator Brownback's bill would not "only" ban therapeutic cloning
research in the U.S., it would also " prevent the importation into the
United States of medical treatments developed in other parts of the world
using nuclear transplantation."
Linda

FROM:   U.S. Newswire
April 10, 2002 Wednesday

HEADLINE: Forty Nobel Laureates Announce Support For Therapeutic
Cloning';
 Rare Public Statement Opposes Brownback Bill

DATELINE: WASHINGTON, April 10

   Forty American Nobel Laureates, including pioneers in research on
cancer and
other life-threatening diseases, today released a joint statement
strongly
supporting nuclear transplantation technology for research and
therapeutic
purposes (more commonly known as therapeutic cloning.) The statement
cites the
critical role this research could play in the fight against "the most
debilitating diseases known to man," and strongly opposes legislation
proposed
by Sen. Brownback (R-Kan.) that would ban nuclear transplantation
technology.

   "Senator Brownback's legislation, if it becomes law, would have a
chilling
effect on all scientific research in the United States," the Nobel
Laureates
say.

   "We decided to speak out to clear up the confusion that has arisen
about this
issue. Cloning humans and therapeutic cloning' (or nuclear
transplantation
technology) are fundamentally different," said Paul Berg, who won the
Nobel
Prize in 1980. "The cloning of a human being should be prohibited.
Nuclear
transplantation technology, on the other hand, is meant to produce stem
cells,
not babies."

   "This impressive statement underlines what advocates for the 100
million
Americans with life-threatening diseases have been saying: this really is
a
matter of life and death," said Michael Manganiello, president of the
Coalition
for the Advancement of Medical Research. "Nuclear transplantation
technology
means hope. The Brownback bill would deny it."

   "It's discouraging that there are some who oppose nuclear
transplantation
technology when it could mean improved approaches for treating spinal
cord
injury and degenerative conditions including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's
diseases, which together affect millions of Americans and their families
every
day." said David Baltimore, Ph.D., president of California Institute of
Technology and winner of Nobel Prize in 1975 for physiology.

   Added Manganiello, "The Nobel statement comes at a critical time when
the
Senate is considering a ban on all forms of cloning and we are so
grateful that
Nobel laureates across the nation have shown their strong support for
this
critical area of medical research."

   EDITOR'S NOTE: The statement will be published tomorrow in a full-page
advertisement in Roll Call and is being presented to Senators' offices
today.
The letter was coordinated by the American Society for Cell Biology. A
full copy
of the text is below.

   ---

   Two National Academy of Sciences expert committees, as well as noted
national
and international organizations, have evaluated current scientific and
medical
information and have concluded that cloning a human being using the
method of
nuclear transplantation cannot be achieved safely. Such attempts in other
mammals often have catastrophic outcomes.  Furthermore, virtually nothing
is
known about the potential safety of such procedures in humans.
Consequently,
there is widespread and strong agreement that an attempt to clone a human
being
would constitute unwarranted experimentation on human subjects and should
be
prohibited by legislation that imposes criminal and civil penalties on
those who
would implant the product of nuclear transplantation into a woman's
uterus.

   Unfortunately, some legislation, such as that introduced by Senator
Brownback
(R-KS) would foreclose the legitimate use of nuclear transplantation
technology
for research and therapeutic purposes. This would impede progress against
some
of the most debilitating diseases known to man. For example, it may be
possible
to use nuclear transplantation technology to produce patient-specific
embryonic
stem cells that could overcome the rejection normally associated with
tissue and
organ transplantation.  Nuclear transplantation technology might also
permit the
creation of embryonic stem cells with defined genetic constitution,
permitting a
new and powerful approach to understanding how inherited predispositions
lead to
a variety of cancers and neurological diseases such as Parkinson's and
Alzheimer's diseases.

   A critical element of the Brownback bill would prevent the importation
into
the United States of medical treatments developed in other parts of the
world
using nuclear transplantation. It seems unbelievable that the United
States
Senate would deny advanced medical treatment to hundreds of millions of
suffering Americans because of an aversion to a technology that was used
in its
development.

   By declaring scientifically valuable biomedical research illegal,
Senator
Brownback's legislation, if it becomes law, would have a chilling effect
on all
scientific research in the United States. Such legal restrictions on
scientific
investigation would also send a strong signal to the next generation of
researchers that unfettered and responsible scientific investigation is
not
welcome in the United States.

   We, the undersigned, urge that legislation to impose criminal and
civil
sanctions against attempts to create a cloned human being be enacted.  We
also
oppose strongly any legislation that would prohibit or impede the
scientifically
legitimate, responsible use of nuclear transplantation technology for
research
and therapeutic purposes. Similarly, any attempt to prohibit the use of
therapies in the United States that were developed with the aid of
nuclear
transplantation technology overseas denies hope for those seeking new
therapies
for the most debilitating diseases known to man.

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