Lynn,
I had to reduce your editorial to 350 words per or local paper's guidelines.
Hope I didn't butcher it too bad. Here it is in case anyone can use it.
Greg
49/35/35
Competing human cloning bills will soon be debated and voted upon by
the U.S. Senate. Most people do not realize that embroiled in this debate is
not just futuristic reproductive cloning (producing another you), but
therapeutic cloning as well.
Therapeutic cloning produces stem cells, not people. The distinction is
critical to the future of more than 100 million Americans who are battling
incurable, life-threatening diseases.
I am a 49-year-old man, father, grandfather, and now an activist. I
have Parkinson's
disease, and my future is at stake in that vote. People should not let fear
and ignorance destroy the hope of millions.
Support for therapeutic cloning is widespread when the process is
explained clearly.
Curing neuro-degenerative diseases, spinal cord injuries and diabetes is
just the beginning of therapeutic cloning’s potential. In this process,
scientists replace the nucleus of an unfertilized egg cell with material
from the nucleus of a “somatic cell” (a skin, heart, nerve or any other
non-germ cell). The result is cloned tissue, which doctors believe will
eliminate rejection, which often occurs with organ transplants. Scientists
believe that therapeutic cloning can produce cures for some diseases in as
little as five years.
Sen. Sam Brownback has introduced a bill (S. 1899) that would not only
ban reproductive cloning, but also therapeutic cloning, and impose severe
criminal and civil penalties on scientists who perform this research. The
other view is expressed in bills sponsored by Sen.Edward Kennedy and Sen.
Dianne Feinstein (S. 1758) and Sen. Tom Harkin and Sen. Arlen Specter (S.
1893). These bills would ban reproductive cloning but allow therapeutic
cloning research to proceed, with appropriate controls, to cure
life-threatening diseases.
Denying Americans legal access to effective medical therapies is
inappropriate, immoral and inhumane. Please let your voice be heard by
contacting your US representative and US Senators.
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