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List, I sent the following response to the editor of our local paper in reply to a recommendation by another citizen that SR1899 Brownback Bill be allowed to prevail. Bob Martone [log in to unmask] http://www.samlink.com/bmartone -----Original Message----- From: Bob Martone [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Monday, June 03, 2002 6:23 PM To: Polk County Enterprise ([log in to unmask]) Subject: Cloning understanding needed To the editor: J. Bell's article "Cloning laws needed" in your May 30, publication came up a little short on the options that the Senate will face soon in the cloning debate. SR 2439 which is co-sponsored by Democrats Kennedy and Feinstein, and Republicans Spector and Hatch would deal with the subject in a much more compassionate and responsible way. The issue here is not the cloning or potential to clone a human. This virtually everyone including me finds plenty of good reasons to slow down, if not stop entirely, until the many ethical and technical issues on this subject can be better understood. Therapeutic cloning on the other hand is about developing cures for diseases that kill and debilitate millions of people today. I know because my wife is one of them. She and our family have suffered from Parkinson's disease for over 25 years. As a spouse, it is extremely important to me to convey to the American people and to your readers, the truth about therapeutic cloning. Therapeutic cloning is fundamentally different than reproductive cloning; therapeutic cloning produces stem cells, not babies. No sperm is ever used. The cells are not transplanted into a womb. And, therapeutic cloning could allow patients to be cured using their own DNA. People like Nancy deserve a chance at life. She can barely walk now. Her speech is slurred and barely audible. She can barely feed herself and perhaps worst of all she can no longer hold those grandchildren that she so cherishes. A vote for SR 1899 sponsored by Senator Sam Brownback would put Nancy in jail together with the scientists and doctors that would seek to cure her. As our senators and congressmen and our citizens become better informed about these differences I pray that they will be able to make the distinction and vote to save lives not to imprison those who would. Please call our Texas Senators and tell them to vote for SR. 2439 Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2002. Bob Martone ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn