Stem Cell Update
From: Diane Wyshak
Sent: Friday, November 19, 2010 2:21 PM
To: ray ; Dr. Kong ; don reed
Subject: Fw: Stem Cell Update
----- Original Message -----
From: Amy Comstock Rick (Parkinson's Action Network)
To: Diane Wyshak
Sent: Friday, November 19, 2010 3:47 PM
Subject: Stem Cell Update
Dear Parkinson's community,
As you most likely know, the briefs have now been filed in the Court of Appeals for Sherley v. Sebelius and oral argument is scheduled for Monday, December 6th. All the briefs in this case can be found on the Web site of the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research (CAMR) at www.camradvocacy.org. The court has moved relatively swiftly thus far so I would not be surprised to see a decision in mid-December or early January. It depends on the nature of the ruling and the parties' decisions regarding appeal whether that brings an end to this difficult case. While judicial decisions can take many directions, I continue to believe that the government (and all of us who support this very important field of research) should win this case; the evidence is strong to show that Congress supports funding for human embryonic stem cell (hesc) research as provided for in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Guidelines.
As you also know, Congress returned this week for its 'lame duck' session. Unfortunately, legislation to confirm that Congress supports NIH funding of hesc research does not appear to be on its agenda. While disappointing and despite significant effort on the part of CAMR and PAN advocates, this is no surprise given all that is facing Congress right now and because a court ruling is imminent. This does not mean, however, that as advocates for hesc research we should just sit and wait. There is little doubt in my mind that we will be facing some hesc legislation in the next Congress, whether it is to ensure the continuation of federal funding or to fight off challenges from the minority who oppose it. Along those lines, I encourage all of you to take the following actions in the coming weeks:
a.. First, it is very important that the over 90 new Members of Congress know how important this issue is to us. I encourage you to contact their offices (you may need to begin with their campaign offices) and both ask for their opinion on this issue and let them know that you support this funding.
b.. Second, I ask you to reaffirm with your returning Members how important this issue is to you. While we may not be seeing a vote on this issue in this session, it is never too soon to lay the foundation for the work we are going to need to do next year.
c.. Finally, PAN and CAMR are working hard to learn the views of the many new Members of Congress on hesc research. For many reasons, federal funding for hesc research was not an issue in most campaigns so we are ascertaining Member-elect positions one at a time. If you learn something about a new Member of Congress's position on this issue, please let us know. You can contact us at [log in to unmask]
Thanks for all the work that you do to support the Parkinson's community.
Amy Comstock Rick
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