See forwarded message from PAN below and
.
please contact your Senators and your Representative to encourage them to take legislative action that will permanently ensure that embryonic stem cell research can be federally funded
Using PAN's CapWiz system, you can send these emails with a few clicks,
Also view today's Senate hearing on the science of stem cell research: (there have been 21 such hearings so far)
http://appropriations.senate.gov/webcasts.cfm?method=webcasts.view&id=30fc79de-947c-4cb8-bb02-41022a9d4cae
very informative!
Thank you,
linda
Forwarded Message from Parkinson's Action Network----------
Dear Parkinson's Community,
Today was a busy day on Capitol Hill. This morning, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) convened a hearing on the issue of human embryonic stem cell research (hESC). In his opening remarks, he was quite clear that this hearing was not to discuss the intricacies of the litigation � it was to talk about the science � but there was no doubt that the urgency felt in the room was based on the court rulings and trepidation for the future of this research.
I encourage you to watch this hearing for yourself, but I must tell you that the witnesses who spoke in favor of the need for all forms of stem cell research, including embryonic, Dr. Francis Collins, Dr. Sean Morrison, Dr. George Daley, and Cody Unser, did an outstanding job. Their remarks were clear, passionate, and highly compelling. The final witness was Dr. Jean Peduzzi-Nelson. While she did not directly speak out for or against hESC research, her testimony was about adult stem cell research, both its historical successes and its promise. Click here to view a Webcast archive of today's hearing.
We applaud Senator Harkin for convening this hearing and give special thanks to Senator Arlen Specter for his unwavering commitment to this issue. But, as advocates, we must remember that hearings are primarily useful to expand on the details of an issue and while that was done very well this morning, what we still need is legislative action that will permanently ensure that hESC research can be federally funded pursuant to the ethical standards that have been put forth by the National Institutes of Health. Please remember to contact your Members of Congress to let them know how important this issue is to you and members of our community.
On the judicial front, the issue is now in both the Court of Appeals and the District Court (each addressing a different question). Additional court filings are due at each level in the next few days and oral arguments on the Court of Appeals �stay� are scheduled for Friday, September 24. We will provide updates as the case progresses. In addition, for those of you who are interested in studying the case in greater detail, the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research (CAMR) has placed all of the court filings on its Web site. You can find them at http://camradvocacy.org/resources.cfm.
This is a busy time for Members of Congress and that means it is a busy time for us. In addition to stem cell activities, earlier today there was a mark-up of H.R. 1362, the National MS and Parkinson's Disease Registries Act, in the House Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee. Following this e-mail you will be receiving an Action Alert about this bill. The importance of this legislation to the Parkinson's community cannot be overstated. In addition to taking action on the stem cell issue, we ask you to voice your support for H.R. 1362.
Once again, thank you for all the work that you do on behalf of the Parkinson's community.
Sincerely,Amy Comstock Rick
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