FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE: April 24, 2002
Contact: Julie Kimbrough,
646-734-6091
Maggie Goldberg, 973-379-2690
Patient Advocates, Researchers Target Key Senators
With Advertising Campaign to Support "Therapeutic Cloning"(aka
Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer, or SCNT)
"SCNT produces stem
cells, not babies" Washington, DC -- The Coalition
for the Advancement of Medical Research (CAMR) today targeted key
Senators as it expanded its national advertising campaign to support
Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT), promising new medical research
sometimes called "therapeutic cloning."
"As the vote on banning this vital research draws nearer, these
ads will help Senators cut through the scare tactics of SCNT
opponents and help clear up the myths," said Michael Manganiello,
President of CAMR, which is sponsoring the campaign. "And they will
let Senators hear from those most vitally affected by SCNT, people
and families battling life-threatening diseases."
The U.S. Senate is expected to vote on a bill banning SCNT in
May. In this latest phase of its advertising campaign, CAMR is
buying radio and print ads in major cities in Arizona, Delaware,
Indiana, Missouri, Oregon, Utah, and West Virginia.
"Ten days ago 40 Nobel Prize Laureates came out against the SCNT
ban. These ads ask Senators to listen to those for whom SCNT could
be a matter of life and death," said Christopher Reeve, Chairman of
the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, a member of CAMR. "These
ads explain that SCNT produces stem cells, not babies, using the
patient's own DNA, not sperm."
The ads present the voices and faces of some of the 100 million
Americans who could be helped by SCNT -- men, women and children
with spinal cord injury, ALS, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Rett
syndrome, cancer, AIDS, diabetes and many more conditions for which
there is now no cure.
"SCNT has nothing to do with copying human beings and everything
to do with generating stem cells that can be used to treat
life-threatening medical conditions," said Kris Gulden, a paralyzed
former police officer featured in the radio ads. "And it's strongly
supported by the National Academy of Sciences. It's hard to believe
the U.S. Senate is actually considering a ban."
"For me, this is all about the hope of finding new treatments and
cures for millions of children who suffer every day," said Monica
Coenraads whose daughter, Chelsea, is featured in the print ads.
Chelsea has Rett Syndrome, an incurable genetic disorder that
prevents her from walking, talking, or using her hands.
Click
here to hear the MP3 version of the radio ad, and here
to view the print version of the ad.
The Coalition for the
Advancement of Medical Research (CAMR), is comprised of
nationally-recognized patient organizations, universities,
scientific societies, foundations, and individuals with
life-threatening illnesses and disorders, advocating for the
advancement of breakthrough research and technologies in
regenerative medicine - including stem cell research and somatic
cell nuclear transfer - in order to cure disease and alleviate
suffering.