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PRESS RELEASE: U.N. To Vote Imminently On Global Cloning Ban; Patient Groups, Researchers Urgently Contact U.N. Missions 11/17/2004 6:03:00 AM To: National Desk Contact: Julie Kimbrough of CAMR, 212-585-3501, 646-734-6091 (cell) or [log in to unmask] or Sean Tipton, 202-863-2492, 202-421-5112 (cell) or [log in to unmask] WASHINGTON, Nov. 17 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The United Nations is preparing to vote this week on a global treaty to ban human cloning. The treaty, led by Costa Rica and the U.S., will ban all forms of cloning, including therapeutic cloning which produces stem cells and could cure diseases and conditions affecting over 100 million Americans. The Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research (CAMR), comprised of 90 nationally-recognized patient groups, universities, and scientific societies, led the charge to support U.S. federal funding of embryonic stem cell research and has led the efforts opposing a U.S. ban on therapeutic cloning. "We're urging all of our members and patients to contact the Missions at the United Nations and ask them not to support a treaty that is anti-medical research, anti-cures, and anti- patients," said Daniel Perry, President of CAMR. Today, CAMR organizations started faxing letters to all countries that are members of the U.N. General Assembly. The upcoming vote this week will take place in the Sixth Committee of the U.N., which is the legal committee for the global body. The General Assembly will then vote on the recommendations of the Sixth Committee in December. If a treaty passes the General Assembly, a two- thirds majority of the U.S. Senate would be required to ratify it. "The overwhelming support and passing of Proposition 71 in California is a direct result of patients and scientists being frustrated by political ideology at the federal level. I hope that the U.N. will take a lesson from this great state and will encourage and welcome new research, rather than slamming the door on patients by passing a global ban. People throughout the world, including a majority of Americans, support therapeutic cloning research-U.N. member countries need to now support their people and vote against the Costa Rica treaty," added Perry. In addition to this week's letter campaign by individual member organizations of CAMR, the coalition held a press conference at the U.N. on October 13th with scientists, advocacy groups, and patients urging the global body to reject the Costa Rica/U.S. treaty. CAMR unveiled two letters, one signed by 125 major patients groups, research institutions and universities in the U.S. and abroad, the other signed by Governor Bill Richardson, former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Both letters urged U.N. delegates to reject a full ban on all forms of cloning and to allow life-saving medical research to continue. Therapeutic cloning has widespread support in the U.S. and abroad. The Secretary General of the U.N., Kofi Annan, voiced his support for the research, and many key U.S. allies including South Korea, the U.K., Japan, and Belgium have led the charge in defeating the global ban. In the U.S., leading Members of Congress from both political parties, the National Academy of Sciences, 40 Nobel laureates, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Medical Association have all concluded that the research is critically important to our understanding of diseases and the development of medical cures needed by millions. Therapeutic cloning could be used to help nearly 100 million Americans suffering from cancer, Alzheimer's, diabetes, Parkinson's, spinal cord injuries, heart disease, ALS, and other devastating conditions for which treatments must still be found. Therapeutic cloning is fundamentally different from human reproductive cloning; therapeutic produces stem cells, not babies. In therapeutic cloning, the nucleus of a donor's unfertilized egg is removed and replaced with the nucleus of a patient's own cells, like a skin, heart, or nerve cell. No sperm is used in this procedure. The cells are not transplanted into a womb. The unfertilized egg cells are stored in a petri dish to become a source of stem cells that can be used to treat currently incurable medical conditions. Therapeutic cloning aims to treat or cure patients by creating tailor-made, genetically identical cells that their bodies won't reject. In other words, the research could allow patients to be cured using their own DNA. The Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research (CAMR), a non- partisan non-profit, is comprised of nationally-recognized patient organizations, universities, scientific societies, foundations, and individuals with life-threatening illnesses and disorders, advocating for the advancement of breakthrough research and technologies in regenerative medicine - including stem cell research and somatic cell nuclear transfer - in order to cure disease and alleviate suffering. For more information on CAMR, visit the website: http://www.camradvocacy.org http://www.usnewswire.com/ -0- SOURCE: The Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research (CAMR) / U.S. Newswire (press release), DC http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=39853 * * * Murray Charters <[log in to unmask]> Please place this address in your address book Please purge all others Web site: Parkinsons Resources on the WWWeb http://www.geocities.com/murraycharters ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn