Criminalizing Science:
The Threat to Biomedical Research
Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), a cell-research procedure colloquially
known as "therapeutic cloning," has recently become the target of opponents of
genetic medicine, as well as some (though not all) traditional abortion opponents.
They have been seeking legislation that would make this technique a federal crime,
punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
In this procedure, a biologist takes a human cell, injects it into an egg from which
the nucleus has been removed, zaps the combination with electricity, and hopes that
the product will start duplicating to produce a small cluster of cells, or
blastocyst, from which stem
cells may be removed.
Although the research is still at a very early stage, many biologists believe SCNT
will be directly or indirectly important in producing treatments for such diseases
as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, heart disease, and diabetes. The tissues produced in
this way would be a nearly exact match for those of the person from which the original
cell was taken, avoiding the problem of rejection. Creating duplicate cell lines could
also be useful in understanding the mutations that cause cancer and other diseases.
The Senate will soon vote on the
Brownback-Landrieu bill, S. 1899,
which would make using this procedure a federal crime. It would also be illegal for
Americans to import therapies or receive treatments developed through this technique abroad.
The Franklin Society petition against this extraordinary use of criminal law against medical
science is here.
Please call or write your senator and tell him or her to vote against the Brownback-
Landrieu bill, S. 1899, which would make therapeutic cloning a crime punishable by up to
10 years in federal prison. Information on how to contact your senator is
here.
You can find more information on this and related topics at any of the sites below:
We are looking for volunteers to help compile more web links
on this issue.
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