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Testimony U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing March 19, 2003 "Drawing the Line Between Ethical Regenerative Medicine Research and Immoral Human Reproductive Cloning." by Greg Wasson Good Afternoon. Chairman Hatch, Senator Feinstein, members of the Committee – thank you for giving me the opportunity me to testify before you today. The potential of regenerative medicine is of great importance to my life. My name is Greg Wasson and I am here on behalf of the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research (CAMR). CAMR is comprised of universities, scientific and academic societies, patient's organizations, and other entities that are devoted to supporting stem cell research. My task today is to speak for the millions of Americans living with MS, ALS, Parkinson's, and many other illnesses who believe in the promise of regenerative medicine, including therapeutic cloning. I, along with CAMR, support every effort to criminalize and ban human reproductive cloning. It is unsafe and unethical. However, it is imperative that we protect stem cell research using therapeutic cloning to provide better treatments and, hopefully, cures for a number of debilitating and presently incurable conditions. Eight years ago I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. My fiancée, Ann Campbell, who is here with me today, was given the same diagnosis that same year. I was a lawyer. Ann was an editor and children's book author. Within five years of diagnosis we were both forced to retire on disability. I was later diagnosed with diabetes. Advocacy for a Parkinson’s cure brought us together. Our hope is that scientific advances will restore our health so that we can enjoy a normal life together. An estimated 1 million Americans have Parkinson’s, a progressive, degenerative brain disorder that is presently incurable, whose cause is unknown, and which slowly robs its victims of the ability to move properly – and eventually to move at all.. We live with the knowledge that 30% of all Parkinson’s patients develop dementia, that we are three times as likely as the general population to develop Alzheimer’s, and that lesser cognitive problems plague a substantial percentage of Parkinson’s patients. Eight years after diagnosis, I take 25 pills per day yet have increasing difficulty controlling my symptoms. These medications also do nothing to slow the progress of the disease. What you see when you look at me today is an illusion - a “chemical costume” I put on every 3 hours to create the impression of even imperfect health. For both Ann and myself, the time will come when our medications fail us permanently and we will be totally functionally disabled. We will leave this world and enter a twilight world of immobility, encased in our bodies as if in tombs, able to think but not speak, understand but not communicate. Death will inevitably follow, and by then it may not be unwelcome. Parkinson’s is just one of many chronic diseases and conditions that are fatal at worst and leave their victims permanently disabled at best. These diseases and conditions affect more than 100 million Americans. Each of us here today has a loved one or friend who has a disease such as Alzheimer’s, ALS, Diabetes or Parkinson’s. Time is of the essence in persuing promising research. Two years ago, I worked with a number of persons suffering from ALS. They became my friends. Now, two years later, most of them are dead. John Davis, an Alabama ALS victim and fellow advocate fortunately still living, once said of embryonic stem cell research using SCNT, “this dog will hunt.” He meant that such research had the potential to save countless lives, and he was right. But this research “will hunt” only if it is not leashed and muzzled. We are not without hope. Regenerative medicine, including responsibly regulated therapeutic cloning, may lead to a cure or treatment for Parkinson’s disease, ALS, and a host of other diseases and conditions. As you have heard today from the scientific panel, human reproductive cloning and cloning for therapeutic medical purposes are not the same. An unfertilized ball of perhaps 100 cells the size of a pinhead, is neither a human life nor anything near it. The use of SCNT does not destroy human beings – it is an attempt to restore human life. Ann Campbell and I, along with millions of other Americans, are human beings – human beings living with terrible diseases that will kill us unless cures are found. The willingness of some here to sacrifice our lives, to place less value on our lives than on a chemically produced, unfertilized mass of cells perhaps grown from one of our own hair follicles is the real crime, the real shame. Compassion and common sense must prevail; ignoring the potential of therapeutic cloning would be a national tragedy and a huge mistake. But as with other scientific advances, a vocal and well-organized minority is trying to stop this research. Galileo, Columbus, and a South African physician named Christian Barnard, all held scientific beliefs that frightened their contemporaries. But the earth does revolve around the sun, the earth is not flat, and today heart transplants are commonplace. Today the target of scientific fear is therapeutic cloning. Opponents argue that legalizing therapeutic cloning will open the floodgates to a black- market industry in reproductive cloning. But similar claims were once made that organ transplantations would lead to huge black markets in harvested organs. This fear was unfounded, and today organ donation and transplantation is strictly and effectively regulated. Senators, we believe that you understand and appreciate the enormity of the potential for saving human beings from fates such as Parkinson’s, ALS, diabetes, and spinal cord injuries. We believe that, individually and collectively, you will make the choice to protect and to restore life. What greater legacy could any government leave its citizens? And so, because we have hope and faith that this country will recognize the value of research into regenerative medicine, Ann and I are getting married this fall. On our wedding day, we will raise a glass to the promise of a new day when diseases like Parkinson’s are simply a terrible memory. In this committee, in the Senate, and in Congress, we place our highest hopes and our most sacred trust. Thank you for your time. SOURCE: http://www.plwp.org/testimony031903.htm * * * Murray Charters <[log in to unmask]> http://www.geocities.com/murraycharters/ http://www.TherapeuticCloning.ca ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn