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Urgent Stem Cell Action Alert! Call/E-mail/Fax your Senators ASAP! Ask your Senators to sign on to the Specter-Harkin Stem Cell Letter 42 down, 58 to go! Action Needed: Please call/e-mail/fax your Senators ASAP requesting that they sign on to the Dear Colleague letter being circulated by Senators Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Tom Harkin (D-IA) asking the President to relax restrictions on stem cell research. This letter is similar to the Castle-DeGette-Cunningham-Dooley Dear Colleague letter in the House, which garnered 206 signatures. We can’t let up now even though your hard work has already resulted in almost half the Senate, 42 Senators, signing the letter. Contact your Senators today! The following 22 Senators are especially critical for you to contact since they might be hesitant to sign on to the letter, but have indicated their support for embryonic stem cell research in the past : Allen, George (R-VA); Bennett, Robert (R-UT); Bond, Kit (R-MO); Breaux, John (D-LA); Bunning, Jim (R-KY); Byrd, Robert (D-WV); Coleman, Norm (R-MN); Campbell, Ben Nighthorse (R-CO) ; Crapo, Michael (R-ID); Dole, Elizabeth (R-NC); Domenici, Pete (R-NM); Ensign, John (R-NV); Frist, Bill (R-TN); Lincoln, Blanche (D-AR); Lott, Trent (R-MS); Lugar, Richard (R-IN); McConnell, Mitch (R-KY); Murkowski, Lisa (R-AK); Roberts, Pat (R-KS); Sununu, John (R-NH); Talent, Jim (R-MO). Please see below for both a sample email that you may customize and send by cutting and pasting the material into your own email program and a sample script for a phone call. Before you call or email your Senator, check the list below to see if he or she has already agreed to sign the letter. Current Signers : (as of 5/13/04): Akaka, Daniel K. (D-HI); Alexander, Lamar (R-TN); Baucus, Max (D-MT); Bingaman, Jeff (D-NM); Boxer, Barbara (D-CA); Carper, Tom (D-DE); Cantwell, Maria (D-WA); Chafee, Lincoln (R-RI); Collins, Susan M. (R-ME); Corzine, Jon (D-NJ); Daschle, Thomas A. (D-SD); Dayton, Mark (D-MN); Dodd, Chris (D-CT); Dorgan, Byron (D-ND); Durbin, Dick (D-IL); Edwards, John R. (D-NC); Feingold, Russ (D-WI); Feinstein, Dianne (D-CA); Harkin, Tom (D-IA); Hatch, Orrin G. (R-UT); Hollings, Ernest F. (D-SC); Hutchison, Kay Bailey (R-TX); Inouye, Daniel K. (D-HI); Jeffords, James M. (I-VT); Kennedy, Edward M. (D-MA); Kerry, John (D-MA); Kohl, Herbert H. (D-WI); Landrieu, Mary (D-LA); Lautenberg, Frank R. (D-NJ); Leahy, Patrick J. (D-VT); Levin, Carl (D-MI); Murray, Patty (D-WA); Nelson, Bill (D-FL); Reed, Jack (D-RI); Reid, Harry (D-NV); Sarbanes, Paul S. (D-MD); Schumer, Charles (D-NY); Stabenow, Debbie (D-MI); Schumer, Charles E. (D-NY); Smith, Gordon (R-OR); Specter, Arlen (R-PA); Warner, John W. (R-VA); Wyden, Ron (D-OR). Click here to take action NOW: http://capwiz.com/pan/issues/alert/?alertid=5807056&type=CU Otherwise, please visit the PAN website to obtain contact information for your Senator, http://www.parkinsonsaction.org/, and click the button on the left-hand side that reads “Take Action”. A sample email and phone call script follow for your information. Go to http://capwiz.com/pan/dbq/officials/ to find contact information about your Senators, or you may call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 to be connected with your Senators’ offices. Thanks for your help! Background: When President Bush announced his stem cell policy in August 2001, he stated that there were 78 lines of embryonic stem cells available for research, yet today there are only 15 lines available. Additionally, these 15 lines are all contaminated by mouse feeder cells, thereby making their therapeutic use for humans uncertain. Furthermore, this small number of stem cell lines does not offer sufficient genetic diversity for application to the millions of Americans suffering from a wide array of diseases, including Parkinson’s. Since August 9, 2001, significant progress has been made in the science of stem cell derivation and handling. Several stem cell lines derived after August 9, 2001, have been either derived or grown without the use of mouse feeder cells. Under the current policy, these more advanced stem cell lines are not available to federally funded scientists. Therefore, the current federal policy concerning embryonic stem cell research is too restrictive as it does not enable this critical research to be fully explored. An expansion is necessary if federally funded scientists and physicians are to have the tools they need to discover treatments and cures. Sample Email Text Subject: Please sign on to the Specter-Harkin Dear Colleague supporting an expansion of the federal stem cell policy. May X, 2004 Dear Senator______________: I am gravely concerned about the President’s short-sighted policy on embryonic stem cell research. This issue is extremely important to me not only because [insert your PD connection here] but also for the chilling effect on biomedical research—which may preclude a cure or new or improved treatments for not only Parkinson’s, but also other diseases such as diabetes, spinal cord injury, cancer, and Alzheimer’s that affect many millions of Americans! Parkinson’s is a progressive neurological disorder that destroys brain cells controlling motor function. Currently available treatments only partially alleviate the resulting stiffness, tremor and slowness of movement. Eventually Parkinson’s leaves its victims unable to walk, talk or even move. [Add personal details about how you have been directly affected by Parkinson’s.] Public opinion strongly favors embryonic stem cell research, with most Americans in favor of it moving forward. The fact that federal funding is available for only a limited number of embryonic stem cell lines significantly compromises the search for cures. Will the Senator help me and sign on to the Specter/Harkin Dear Colleague? Thanks for your consideration. I hope I can count on the Senator’s support on this life or death issue. Sincerely, Text of the Dear Colleague: May 6, 2004 Dear Colleague, We urge you to join us in writing to the President regarding the need to expand the current Administration policy on embryonic stem cells. Stem cells have the extraordinary ability to replace damaged or diseased cells in the body. Recent research indicates that stem cell-based therapies may have the potential to treat Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, spinal cord injuries, heart-disease, and many other diseases. As Chairman and Ranking Member of the Appropriations Subcommittee that funds the National Institutes of Health, we have strongly supported stem cell research since human embryonic stem cells were first derived in 1998. We, together with Senators Feinstein, Hatch, and Kennedy, believe that the time has come to expand the current policy on human embryonic stem cells so that U.S. scientists and physicians can continue to make strides towards cures and treatments. The President allowed the first federal funding of embryonic stem cell research by making funding available for research on stem cell lines that had been derived before August 9, 2001. Originally, it was thought that 78 embryonic stem cell lines would be available for federal funding, and that these lines would allow significant progress towards cures. Unfortunately, over two years after the policy was instituted, only 19 stem cell lines are available to federally funded scientists. All of these lines are contaminated by the use of mouse feeder cells and will probably never meet the standards required for human treatment. Since August 9, 2001, significant progress has been made in the science of stem cell derivation and handling. Several stem cell lines derived after August 9, 2001, have been either derived or grown without the use of mouse feeder cells. Under the current policy, these more advanced stem cell lines are not available to federally funded scientists. We, together with Senators Feinstein, Hatch, and Kennedy, urge you to join us in writing to the President to urge an expansion of the stem cell policy so that federally funded scientists and physicians can have the tools they need to discover treatments and cures. If you have any questions, please contact Sudip Parikh (224-1396) with Senator Specter or Erik Fatemi (224-7415) with Senator Harkin. Sincerely, Arlen Specter Tom Harkin Chairman Ranking Member Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, Subcommittee on Labor, HHS Education and Related Agencies Education and Related Agencies The Honorable George W. Bush The White House Washington, DC 20500 Dear Mr. President: We write to urge you to expand the current federal policy concerning embryonic stem cell research. As you know, embryonic stem cells have the potential to be used to treat and better understand deadly and disabling diseases and conditions that affect more than 100 million Americans, such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, and many others. Embryonic stem cells can be derived from in vitro fertilized (IVF) embryos that are developed in excess of those needed for the procedure used to enable infertile couples to have children. The IVF process results in more embryos than are needed by the couple. There are estimated to be more than 400,000 IVF embryos, which are currently frozen and will likely be destroyed if not donated, with informed consent of the couple, for research. We very much appreciate your words of support for the enormous potential of this research and we know that you intended your policy to help promote this research to its fullest. As you know, the Administration’s policy limits federal funding only to embryonic stem cells that were derived by August 9, 2001, the date of the policy announcement. However, scientists have told us that since the policy went into effect more than two years ago, we have learned that the embryonic stem cell lines eligible for federal funding will not be suitable to effectively promote this research. We therefore feel it is essential to relax the restrictions in the current policy for this research to be fully explored. Among the difficult challenges with the current policy are the following: • While it originally appeared that 78 embryonic stem cell lines would be available for research under the federal policy, now, more than two years after August 9, 2001, only 19 are available to researchers. • All available stem cell lines are contaminated with mouse feeder cells, making their therapeutic use for humans uncertain. • Scientists are reporting that it is increasingly difficult to attract new scientists to this area of research because of concerns that funding restrictions will keep this research from being successful. • Despite the fact that U.S. scientists were the first to derive human embryonic stem cells, leadership in this area of research is shifting to other countries such as the United Kingdom, Singapore, South Korea, and Australia. Mr. President, we know that you have been a strong supporter of medical research and share our commitment to curing disease and alleviating human suffering. We would very much like to work with you to modify the current embryonic stem cell policy so that it provides this area of research the greatest opportunity to lead to the treatments and cures for which we are all hoping. Sincerely, Laura Jane Cohen Director of Outreach Parkinson's Action Network 1000 Vermont Ave., NW Suite 900 Washington, D.C. 20005 ph: 202-842-4101 ext. 104 or 800-850-4726 fax: 202-842-4105 [log in to unmask] www.parkinsonsaction.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn