Washington, D.C., April 30, 2002 - Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) President Jordan J. Cohen, M.D., issued the following statement in support of cloning legislation, introduced in the Senate today by Senators Arlen Specter (R-PA), Ted Kennedy (D-MA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Orrin Hatch (R-UT):

"The current opportunities in medical research are unparalleled in our nation's history. To help ensure that these opportunities are realized, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) endorses the "Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2002."

The AAMC strongly opposes human reproductive cloning. To expose any person to the known risks and uncertainties involved in reproductive cloning would be unethical and unconscionable.

However, it is important to recognize the difference between reproductive cloning and the use of cloning technology that does not create a human being. We concur with the recent report of the National Academies of Science that states, "[T]he scientific and medical considerations that justify a ban on human reproductive cloning at this time are not applicable to nuclear transplantation to produce stem cells." This technology has potentially important applications in research, medicine and industry, including genetically engineered human cell cultures that would serve as "therapeutic tissues" in the treatment of currently intractable human diseases. These uses of cloning technology are not intended to lead to a cloned human being, nor do they. The Specter/Kennedy/Feinstein/Hatch bill acknowledges this difference, and will allow potentially life-saving research to move forward.

Legislation that prohibits research on the use of nuclear transplantation to produce stem cells would have grave implications for future advances in medical research and human healing. Since other nations have already decided not to enact such law, a congressional ban would also pose a serious threat to the continued world leadership of the United States in medical research and biotechnology.

Among the brightest opportunities in medical research is the further study and application of both adult and embryonic stem cell technologies. The production of stem cells by nuclear transplantation may yet prove the most powerful and widely beneficial of all. However, we will never see the fulfillment of any of this promise if we choose to take the perilous and unprecedented path of banning through legislation research on nuclear transplantation to produce stem cells."

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The Association of American Medical Colleges represents the 125 accredited U.S. medical schools; the 16 accredited Canadian medical schools; some 400 major teaching hospitals, including Veterans Administration medical centers; more than 105,000 faculty in 98 academic and scientific societies; and the nation's 66,000 medical students and 97,000 residents.

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The Association of American Medical Colleges is a not-for-profit association representing all 129 accredited U.S. and 17 accredited Canadian medical schools; nearly 400 major teaching hospitals and health systems, including 68 Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers; and 94 academic and scientific societies. Through these institutions and organizations, the AAMC represents 109,000 faculty members, 67,000 medical students, and 104,000 resident physicians. Additional information about the AAMC and U.S. medical schools and teaching hospitals is available at www.aamc.org/newsroom.

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