Nobel Laureates Oppose Efforts
to Halt Therapeutic Cloning Research
April 12, 2002 - Forty American Nobel Laureates April
10 released a joint statement
strongly supporting nuclear transplantation technology for
research and therapeutic purposes (more commonly known as
therapeutic cloning.) The statement cites the critical role
this research could play in the fight against "the most
debilitating diseases known to man," and strongly opposes
legislation proposed by Senator Brownback (R-Kan.) that would
ban nuclear transplantation technology.
"Senator Brownback's legislation, if it becomes law,
would have a chilling effect on all scientific research in
the United States," the Nobel Laureates say. The letter
was coordinated by the American Society for Cell Biology.
"We decided to speak out to clear up the confusion that
has arisen about this issue. Cloning humans and 'therapeutic
cloning' (or nuclear transplantation technology) are fundamentally
different," said Paul Berg, who won the Nobel Prize in
1980. "The cloning of a human being should be prohibited.
Nuclear transplantation technology, on the other hand, is
meant to produce stem cells, not babies."
"It's discouraging that there are some who oppose nuclear
transplantation technology when it could mean improved approaches
for treating spinal cord injury and degenerative conditions
including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, which together
affect millions of Americans and their families every day."
said David Baltimore, Ph.D., president of California Institute
of Technology and winner of the Nobel Prize in 1975 for physiology.
Information:
Tony Mazzaschi, Senior Associate Vice President
AAMC Biomedical Health Sciences Research
tmazzaschi@aamc.org
(202) 828-0059
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