FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - March 19, 2002
Contact: Alice do Valle, Simon Aronoff 415-901-0111

AS VOTE NEARS, 100 LIBERAL LEADERS AND EXPERTS TELL U.S. SENATE:
HUMAN CLONING THREATENS HUMANITY

Citing Eugenics and Protection of Liberal Values, Over 100 Human Rights, Social Justice, African-American, Latino, Disability Rights, Women's Health, Environmental and Other Leaders and Experts Sign Senate Letter to Oppose Human Cloning

Washington, D.C…. Over 100 liberal constituency leaders, health experts, and others have issued an "Open Letter on Human Cloning and Eugenic Engineering" calling on the United States Senate to pass legislation imposing a strong ban on the creation of human clones and a moratorium on the creation of clonal human embryos for research.

"We need to ensure that these powerful new genetic technologies don't spin out of control and undermine social justice and democracy," said Dr. Marcy Darnovsky, Associate Executive Director of the Center for Genetics and Society, which released the letter. "Human cloning could be a gateway to a frightening new kind of eugenics, where discrimination and inequality are permanently written into our genetic code."

The U.S. Senate is expected to vote on cloning in April. Both Republicans and Democrats support a permanent ban on creating full-term human clones, but Republican proposals also impose a permanent ban on creating cloned embryos for research, while Democratic proposals set no meaningful controls on this practice. The moratorium on embryo cloning proposed by signers of the Open Letter offers a third alternative.

Signers of the letter are concerned that the widespread production of clonal embryos would increase the likelihood that some would be used to create full-term human clones, and that cloning technology would make it easier to alter the genetic nature of the human species.

According to Alexander Capron, University Professor at the University of Southern California and co-director, Pacific Center for Health Policy and Ethics, "Embryonic stem cell research holds promise to cure disease, and should continue. But cloning techniques aren't yet necessary for such research to move forward. Biologists imposed a moratorium 27 years ago on the first recombinant DNA experiments until the risk could be assessed and protective procedures were adopted. A moratorium on cloning human embryos for research would give scientists an incentive to work with the rest of society to examine alternatives, and, if it was eventually decided that embryo cloning was necessary and acceptable, to establish a regulatory structure that would prevent abuse."

According to Dr. Darnovsky, "If human cloning and 'designer babies' are allowed, people will come to be regarded as objects to be specified and designed for particular purposes. Liberals and progressives have fought for over 200 years to promote human dignity, social justice and democracy; now cloning threatens to turn back the clock."

Andrew Imparato, President of the American Association of People with Disabilities, said, "As a result of laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act, disabled people are just starting to taste the fruits of social inclusion, and full participation in society. The arrogance that underlies human genetic modification poses a very real global threat for children and adults with disabilities who have a long history of being devalued and targeted for extinction by eugenicists. Rather than devoting scarce resources to chasing genetic perfection, we must invest in expanding opportunities for the one in five Americans living with disability."

Commenting on the development of liberal opposition to cloning, Judy Norsigian, Director of the Boston Women's Health Book Collective, said, "Last summer environmentalists and women's health advocates took the lead among liberal and progressive constituencies actively opposing human cloning. Today's letter shows that a new, even broader set of liberal leaders are making their voices heard."

Other signers of the Open Letter include Lori Andrews, former Chair of the U.S. Human Genome Project Ethics Working Group; Leonard Rubenstein, Executive Director of Physicians for Human Rights; Luz Alvarez Martinez, Executive Director of the National Latina Health Organization; Latonya Slack, Executive Director of the California Black Women's Health Project; Daniel Callahan, co-founder and former President of the Hastings Center; Dr. Philip R. Lee, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Health; Arlie Russell Hochschild, Director of the Center for Working Families at U.C. Berkeley; Kay McVay, President of the California Nurses Association; New York University sociologist Troy Duster, author of Backdoor to Eugenics; and author and radio commentator Jim Hightower.

Copies of the Open Letter are being delivered to all Senators, members of Congress and the President today. It can be viewed at [ Resources >> CGS >> Open Letter on Human Cloning ]

The Center for Genetics and Society is a non-profit information and public affairs organization committed to encouraging socially responsible governance of the new human genetic and reproductive technologies. It is based in Oakland, California.

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