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APPENDIX F:LETTER FROM THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF MEDICAL COLLEGES AND OTHERS REGARDING PENDING HUMAN CLONING BILLSDear Senator: The current opportunities in biomedical research are unparalleled in our nation's history. To ensure that these continue, the scientific and organized medicine communities in the United States urge you to oppose legislation that would prohibit the use of somatic cell nuclear transfer due to the grave implications it may have for future advances in biomedical research and human healing. We agree with the American public that the cloning of human beings should not proceed at this time. However, the current legislative proposals in Congress would have a chilling effect on vital areas of research that could prove to be of enormous public benefit. Rather than legislation, we believe that the self-imposed five-year voluntary moratorium on the cloning of human beings, which has been adopted by the medical research community, is the appropriate course of action. This approach is the only way to ensure continued medical progress and to protect the public's interest. We know a self-imposed moratorium works. In the early 1970s, the American public and the scientific community faced a similar dilemma with the emergence of recombinant DNA technology. At that time, the medical community adopted a self-imposed moratorium on the use of the technology until stringent guidelines and regulatory safeguards were put in place. With this deliberate approach, medical science has provided tremendous benefits over the last 20 years to the health and well being of all Americans, and our economy. Two shining examples of the benefits resulting from this technology are the mapping of the human genome and the growth of the biotechnology industry. Like the recombinant DNA debate, the scientific techniques involved in cloning research hold great promise for our ability to ultimately treat and manage myriad diseases and disorders -- from cancer and heart disease, to Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, to infertility and HIV/AIDS. We must not impede these research opportunities in our eagerness to forestall an outcome that can be accomplished just as effectively with a voluntary moratorium. In addition to the research and medical communities' acceptance of a five-year moratorium on human cloning, we believe the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) existing authority to regulate any attempts to replicate human beings, and its announced intention to refuse consideration of such proposals, effectively protects the public. The FDA approval process is rigorous and has been duly tested over time. The self-imposed moratorium coupled with FDA's oversight is a strong combination. This letter was signed by the following organizations American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology American Association of Anatomists American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy American Association of Immunologists American College of Medical Genetics American College of Neuropsychopharmacology American College of Rheumatology American Pediatric Society American Society for Clinical Nutrition American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics American Society for Reproductive Medicine American Society of Hematology American Society of Human Genetics American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene American Veterinary Medical Association Americans for Medical Progress Association for Medical School Pharmacology Association of American Cancer Institutes Association of American Medical Colleges Association of Academic Health Centers Association of Independent Research Institutes Association of Medical and Graduate Departments of Biochemistry Association of Medical School Microbiology and Immunology Chairs Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairmen Baylor College of Medicine Biotechnology Industry Organization Brown University Division of Biology and Medicine Chicago Medical School Columbia University Cooley's Anemia Foundation Cornell University Medical College Cystic Fibrosis Foundation East Carolina University School of Medicine Federation of American Societies of Experimental Biology Federation of Behavioral, Psychological and Cognitive Sciences Genetics Society of America George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences The Health, Safety and Research Alliance of New York State, Inc. Jeffrey Modell Foundation Lymphoma Research Foundation of America Medical College of Wisconsin National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research National Association for Biomedical Research National Caucus of Basic Biomedical Science Chairs National Depressive and Manic Depressive Association National Marfan Foundation National Osteoporosis Foundation New York University Medical Center Organization of Parents Through Surrogacy Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation The Paget Foundation Parkinson's Action Network Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association (PhRMA) PXE International Research! America Research Society on Alcoholism RESOLVE Scleroderma Foundation, Inc. Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Society for Inherited Metabolic Disorders Society for Pediatric Research Society for the Study of Reproduction Society of Medical College Directors of Continuing Medical Education University of California, Los Angeles, UCLA School of Medicine University of Cincinnati College of Medicine University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry University of Vermont College of Medicine Woodruff Health Science Center of Emory University
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