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OPEN LETTER TO U.S. SENATORS ON HUMAN CLONING AND EUGENIC
ENGINEERING
CENTER FOR
GENETICS AND SOCIETY 436 14th
Street, Suite 1302 Oakland, CA 94612
Senate
Majority Leader Tom Daschle Senate
Minority Leader Trent Lott Members of
the Senate
cc: President George W. Bush Members of
the House of Representatives
March 19,
2002
Dear
Senators,
The United
States Senate will soon be considering legislation on human cloning.
Your decisions will have profound implications for the future of
humanity.
The new
technologies of human genetic engineering are among the most
consequential technologies ever developed. If used wisely they hold
great promise for preventing and treating disease, but if misused
they could lead to a future more horrific than any we might imagine.
These
technologies are being developed at a frenzied pace. The general
public has had little real opportunity to understand and consider
their full implications. There are few significant controls over
their use.
These
conditions leave us vulnerable to being pushed into a new era of
eugenic engineering, one in which people quite literally become
manufactured artifacts. The implications for individual integrity
and autonomy, for family and community life, for social and economic
justice and indeed for world peace are chilling. Once humans begin
cloning and genetically engineering their children for desired
traits we will have crossed a threshold of no return.
Given the
rapid pace of development, the enormous stakes, the lack of societal
controls and the fact that informed public debate has barely begun,
what is the responsible course of legislative action at this time?
With regard
to human cloning, we believe the answer is straightforward.
First and
obviously, the United States should ban the creation of full-term
human clones ("reproductive cloning"). There is no unmet need that
requires the creation of genetic duplicates of existing people.
Surveys show that 90% of Americans support bans on reproductive
cloning. Nearly thirty countries world-wide have already agreed to
such bans. The United States should do likewise without delay.
Second, the
United States should enact a moratorium on the creation of clonal
human embryos for research purposes (often prematurely called
"therapeutic cloning"). The widespread creation of clonal embryos
would increase the risk that a human clone would be born, and would
further open the door to eugenic procedures. Fortunately, important
research on embryonic stem cells does not yet require the use of
clonal embryos. A moratorium would allow time for alternatives to
research cloning to be investigated, for policy makers and the
public to make informed judgments, and for regulatory structures to
be established to oversee applications that society might decide are
acceptable. A moratorium on research cloning is a middle ground
between the two positions of an immediate permanent ban and an
unconstrained green light.
We strongly
urge as well that the United States join with other countries, under
the auspices of the United Nations, to work towards an international
convention that would ban dangerous applications of the new genetic
technologies, while encouraging the many applications judged to
contribute to the improvement of human well-being.
We are
long-time advocates for human rights, the environment, and social
justice. We are strong supporters of women's health and reproductive
rights, disability rights, and biomedical research. We believe in
the inherent equality and human dignity of all people. We want to
help ensure that our descendants live in a world in which these
values are sustained and nurtured.
We believe
that a ban on reproductive cloning and a moratorium on the creation
of clonal embryos are the policies most consistent with the values
and commitments we share. We strongly urge you to support
legislation that would enact such policies into law.
Sincerely,
[An
asterisk indicates an organizational endorsement; organizational
affiliations are otherwise shown for identification purposes only.]
Lori B.
Andrews, J.D., Visiting Professor, Princeton University; former
Chair, U.S. Human Genome Project Ethical, Legal and Social
Implications Working Group
George J.
Annas, J.D., M.P.H., Edward R. Utley Professor and Chair, Health Law
Department, Boston University Schools of Medicine and Public Health;
Co-founder, Global Lawyers and Physicians
Adrienne
Asch, Ph.D., Henry R. Luce Professor in Biology, Ethics, and the
Politics of Human Reproduction, Wellesley College
Thomas
Athanasiou, author, Divided Planet: The Ecology of Rich and
Poor
Diane Beeson, Ph.D., Chair, Department of Sociology and
Social Welfare, California State University at
Hayward
Medea
Benjamin, Founding Director, Global Exchange
Philip L.
Bereano, J.D., Vice-President, Washington Biotechnology Action
Council*; Board member, Council for Responsible
Genetics*
Paul
Billings, M.D., Ph.D., Founder and Executive Vice-President, Chief
Scientific and Medical Officer, GeneSage, Inc.
Brent
Blackwelder, Ph.D., President, Friends of the Earth*
Charles L.
Bosk, Ph.D., Faculty Associate, Center for Bioethics, University of
Pennsylvania
Patricia A.
Buffler, M.P.H., Ph.D., Dean Emerita, University of California
Berkeley School of Public Health
Daniel
Callahan, Ph.D., Co-founder and former President, The Hastings
Center
Alexander
Morgan Capron, LL.B., University Professor, Henry W. Bruce Professor
of Law and Medicine, and Co-Director, Pacific Center for Health
Policy and Ethics, University of Southern California; member,
National Bioethics Advisory Commission (1996-2001)
Neil
Carman, Ph.D., Sierra Club Genetic Engineering Committee
John
Cavanagh, Executive Director, Institute for Policy
Studies
Ignacio
Chapela, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental
Science, Policy and Management, University of California at
Berkeley
Henry
Cisneros, Ph.D., Chairman and CEO, American City Vista; former U.S.
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Mitchell
Cohen, Co-Editor, Dissent; Professor of Political Science, Baruch
College, City University of New York
Peter
Conrad, Ph.D., Harry Coplan Professor of Social Sciences and
Sociology Department Chair, Brandeis University
Irene
Crowe, Ph.D., President, Pettus-Crowe-Foundation
Alice J.
Dan, Ph.D., Professor and Director, Center for Research on Women and
Gender, University of Illinois at Chicago
Michael
Dorsey, Thurgood Marshall Fellow, Dartmouth College; member, Sierra
Club National Board of Directors
Barbara
Dudley, former Executive Director, Greenpeace USA
Troy
Duster, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology, New York University; author,
Backdoor to Eugenics
Gregg
Easterbrook, visiting fellow, the Brookings Institution; author, A
Moment on the Earth
Linda L.
Emanuel, M.D., Ph.D., Director, Health Section, Ford Center on
Global Citizenship, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern
University
Marlene
Fried, Ph.D., Director, Civil Liberties and Public Policy Program,
Hampshire College
Alexander
Gaguine, President, The Appleton Foundation
Seymour
Garte, Ph.D., Professor of Environmental and Community Medicine,
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, University of Medicine and
Dentistry of New Jersey; Scientific Director, Genetics Research
Institute, Milan, Italy
Todd
Gitlin, Ph.D., Professor of Culture, Journalism and sociology, New
York University
Fred Goff,
President, The Data Center; co-founder, North American Conference on
Latin America
Lynn R.
Goldman, M.P.H., M.D., Professor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of
Public Health; former Assistant Administrator, E.P.A. Office of
Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances
Viola
Gonzales, Executive Director, Latino Issues Forum
Herbert
Chao Gunther, President and Executive Director, Public Media
Center
Robert M.
Gould, M.D., President, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Bay
Area Chapter
Eva Harris,
Ph.D., President, Sustainable Sciences Institute; Assistant
Professor, University of California Berkeley School of Public
Health
Betsy
Hartmann, Ph.D., Director, Population and Development Program,
Hampshire College; author, Reproductive Rights and Wrongs: The
Global Politics of Population Control
Tom Hayden,
author; former California State Senator; co-founder, Students for a
Democratic Society
Randy
Hayes, President, Rain Forest Action Network
Richard
Hayes, Executive Director, Center for Genetics and
Society*
Don Hazen,
Executive Director, Independent Media Center
Willard
Hedden, Ph.D., Executive Director, Educational and Environmental
Media Corp.
Anne
Hemenway, Vice-President/Secretary, Citizens Vote,
Inc.
Russell
Hemenway, National Director, National Committee for an Effective
Congress (NCEC)
Jim
Hightower, radio commentator and author
Arlie
Russell Hochschild, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology, University of
California Berkeley; Director, Center for Working Families; author,
The Managed Heart
Andrew J.
Imparato, former General Counsel, National Council on
Disability
Sheila
Jasanoff, J.D., Ph.D., Professor of Science and Public Policy, John
F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
Huey
Johnson, President, Resource Renewal Institute; former California
State Secretary of Natural Resources
Philip
Kitcher, Ph.D., Professor of Philosophy, Columbia University;
author, The Lives to Come: The Genetic Revolution and Human
Possibilities
John Knox,
President, Earth Island Institute
Marc Lappé,
Ph.D., Executive Director, Center for Ethics and Toxics; author,
Broken Code: The Exploitation of DNA
Philip R.
Lee, M.D., Institute for Health Policy Studies; former Chancellor,
University of California San Francisco; former Assistant Secretary
of Health, U.S. Health and Human Services Department
Michael
Lerner, President, Commonweal
Michael
Lerner, Ph.D., Editor, Tikkun
Susan
Lindee, Ph.D., Department of History and Sociology of Science,
University of Pennsylvania; co-author, The DNA Mystique: The Gene as
Cultural Icon
Daniel B
Magraw Jr., Executive Director, Center for International
Environmental Law; former Director, E.P.A. International
Environmental Law Office
Julianne
Malveaux, Ph.D., syndicated national columnist; editor, Voices of
Vision: African American Women on the Issues
Manning
Marable, Ph.D., Columbia University; Director, Institute for
Research in African-American Studies
Gina
Maranto, University of Miami; author, The Quest for Perfection: The
Drive to Breed Better Humans
Richard
Marker, D.D., Executive Vice-President, Samuel Bronfman
Foundation
Luz Alvarez
Martinez, Executive Director, National Latina Health
Organization
Bill
McKibben, author, The End of Nature
Everett
Mendelsohn, Ph.D., Professor, History of Science and Technology,
Harvard University; past President, International Council for
Science Policy Studies
Rosario
Isasi Morales, M.P.H., J.D., Boston University Department of Health
Law; Global Lawyers and Physicians
Harry R.
Moody, Ph.D, Director, Institute for Human Values in
Aging
Jose F.
Morales, Ph.D., Director, Public Interest
Biotechnology
Robert K.
Musil, Ph.D., M.P.H., Executive Director and CEO, Physicians for
Social Responsibility
Christine
McCullum, Ph.D., Center for Health Promotion and Prevention
Research, School of Public Health, University of Texas -
Houston
Kay McVay,
R.N., President, California Nurses Association*
Judy
Norsigian, Executive Director and Co-founder, Boston Women's Health
Book Collective*; co-author, Our Bodies, Ourselves.
David
Olsen, Director, CEO, Coalition to Advance Sustainable Technology;
former President and CEO, Patagonia, Inc.
John
Passacantando, Executive Director, Greenpeace USA
Michele
Perrault, International Vice-President, Sierra Club
Ron
Pollack, J.D., Executive Director, Families USA
Catherine
Porter, former Executive Director, Consultative Group on
Biodiversity
Alvin F.
Poussaint, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School;
Director, Judge Baker Children's Center Media Center
Ruth B.
Purtillo, Ph.D., Director and Professor, Creighton University Center
for Health Policy and Ethics
Carolyn
Raffensperger, J.D., Executive Director, Science and Environmental
Health Network
Mark
Ritchie, President, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
Orlando
Rodriguez, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology & Anthropology, Fordham
University; former Director, Fordham Hispanic Research
Center
Joel M.
Roselin, M.T.S., Director of Public Programs, Department of Social
Medicine, Division of Medical Ethics, Harvard University Medical
School
Barbara
Katz Rothman, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology, City University of New
York; author, The Book of Life: A Personal and Ethical Guide to
Race, Normality and the Implications of the Human Genome
Project
Leonard
Rubenstein, J.D., Executive Director, Physicians for Human Rights
Arlie
Schardt, President, Environmental Media Services; former national
press secretary, Al Gore for President (1987-88)
Alexandra
E. Shields, Ph.D., Georgetown University Institute for Health Care
Research and Policy
Evelyne
Shuster, Ph.D., Adjunct Associate Professor of Philosophy,
Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania; Human Rights
and Medical Ethics Program, Veterans Affairs Medical
Center
Marjorie R.
Sims, Executive Director, California Women's Law
Center
Latonya
Slack, J.D., Executive Director, California Black Women's Health
Project
David H.
Smith, Ph.D, Director, The Poynter Center for the Study of Ethics
& American Institutions
Linda
Tagliaferro, author, Genetic Engineering: Progress or Peril?
Casey
Walker, author, Made Not Born; Editor & Publisher, Wild Duck
Review
Alan
Watahara, President and General Counsel, California Children's
Lobby
Martin
Waukazoo, Director, Native American Health Center
Jon Weil,
Ph.D., former Director, Program in Genetic Counseling, University of
California Berkeley; author, Psychosocial Genetic
Counseling
Charles
Weiner, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of History of Science and
Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Alan J.
Weisbard, J.D., Associate Professor of Law, Medical Ethics and
Jewish Studies, University of Wisconsin
Adam
Werbach, CEO, U.S. Sky Trust; former President, Sierra Club
David
Winickoff, founder, Harvard University Law School Ethics, Law and
Biotechnology Society
Susan
Wright, Ph.D., University of Michigan; author, Molecular Politics
Names added after March 19 release:
Michael Black, Ph.D., Visiting Associate Professor of
Political Science, Harvey Mudd College, Claremont,
CA
Anne
Donchin, Ph.D. Emerita Professor of Philosophy, Indiana University,
Indianapolis
Maureen
Sullivan, Ph.D, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology,
Northern Illinois University
Carol C.
Barford, Ph.D., Assistant Scientist, Center for Sustainability and
the Global Environment, University of
Wisconsin-Madison
Joanne M.
Carroll, Ph.D. Associate Professor, College of Pharmacy and Allied
Health Professions, St. John's University, New York
Lynn
Miller, Ph.D., Professor of Biology, Hampshire
College
Dana Roth,
D.V.M., AAAS Diplomacy Fellow
Michael J.
Flower, Ph.D., Interdisciplinary Science Studies & Center for
Science Education, Portland State University
Robert
Dunn, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, California State University
Hayward
Joseph S.
Alper, Professor of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts - Boston
Giovanna Di
Chiro, Assistant Professor of Environmental Science, Allegheny
College
Blair
Alpert-Sandler, Ph.D., Systems Coordinator, Greenbelt Alliance
Kathleen
McAfee, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental
Studies
Margaret
Wooster, Executive Director, Great Lakes United
Joseph H.
Therrien, Communications Consultant, Public Media Center
Rajani
Bhatia, Coordinator, Committee on Women, Population and the
Environment
Andrew
Mushita, Director, Community Technology Development
Trust
J.P.
Harpignies, author, Double Helix Hubris: Against Designer Genes
Lorie
Brillinger, NP, CNM, Member of Berkeley Community Health Commission
Midwife Panel
Simon
Harris, National Campaign Director, Organic Consumers
Association
Francie
Hornstein, LCSW, Perinatal Social Worker, Alta Bates Medical
Center
Priscilla
Ortiz, Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California
Berkeley
Mark
Mazziotti, Public Media Center
Christian
Heath, Co-Director, GE Free Marin
Molly Beth
Graber, Biology student, University of California Santa
Cruz
Jason A.
Delborne, Ph.D. candidate in Environmental Science, Policy, &
Management, University of California Berkeley
Elizabeth
Faust, Ph.D. student, Graduate School of Geography, Clark
University
Maja
Bergquist, student at College of Marin, CA
Wendy
Botwin, M.A. candidate
Jacqueline
Graham, MA, Ed., teacher of children and adults who have
disabilities
Daniel B.
Radov, M. Phil., Somerville, MA
William
Aal, Global Economy Working Group, Church Council of Greater
Seattle
Philip
Paull, B.A., M.A., Coalition for a Democratic
Pacifica
Action for
Social and Ecological Justice (ASEJ)*
Karen L.
Sadler, University of Pittsburgh
Dr. Robert
Anderson, Physicians and Scientists for Responsible
Genetics
Barbara
Kami, Ellwood Commercial Real Estate
Bruce L.
Chrisp - B.M., M.M., Professional Musician Lecturer of Trombone -
University of California at Davis
Pete
Shanks, Santa Cruz Action Network
Elaine
Wang, Lori Richards, Michael Dickson; Jeffrey W. Pienack; Amy
Wright; Karen Lohmann; Gary Roush; Jane Kimbrough; Kathleen Snyder;
Carrie Durkee; Daniel Spelce; Nancy Rosa; Roland Kipke, MA;
Bernadette Mullaney; Timothy P. Lannan Melanie McAfee; Diana Scott;
Joe Sokolinsky
Names of supporters from outside the United States:
Laura
Shanner, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Health Ethics, University of
Alberta, Canada
Ricarda A.
Steinbrecher, Ph.D., Director, Econexus*, UK
David
Sanchez-Monroy, M.Sc., Ph.D., General Director, ISAT,
Mexico
Thomas
Schweiger, former Secretary General of European Campaign On
Biotechnology Patents, Brussels, Belgium
Elizabeth
Allan, B.Sc. Ph.D., Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology,
University of Edinburgh, UK
David King,
Ph.D., Coordinator, Human Genetics Alert*, London,
UK
Abby
Lippman, Professor, McGill University, Canada
E. E.
Daniel, Ph.D., FRSC, University of Alberta, Canada
Sanjoy
Mahajan, Ph.D., Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge,
UK
Chris
Goodey, Ph.D., Chair, Human Genetics Alert, London,
UK
David King,
MBBS, MPH, FRACGP, Lecturer, Centre for General Practice, University
of Queensland, Queensland, Australia
James
Moore, B.S., M.Div., Ph.D., Reader in History of Science and
Technology, Open University, UK
Michael
Antoniou, BA (Oxon), Ph.D., Senior Lecturer in Molecular Genetics,
GKT School of Medicine, King's College, London, UK
Priscilla
Alderson, Ph.D., Professor, Social Science Research Unit, Institute
of Education, University of London, UK
T.
Stainton, BSW, MSW, Ph.D., Co-Founder, International Association for
the Scientific Study of Intellectual Disability,
Ethics Special Interest Research Group, University of British
Columbia, Canada and University of Wales, Swansea,
UK
Regis M.
Dunne, RSM, Research Ethics Consultant, Mater Medical Research
Institute Brisbane, Australia; Member NHMRC Genetic and related
Research Advisory Panel, Australia
Jerónimo
Aguado Martínez, President, Plataforma Rural*, Spain
Joe
Cummins, Professor emeritus of Genetics, University of Western
Ontario, Canada
Konrad
Knerr, Australian Ethical Investment Ltd.; Australian Ethical
Superannuation Pty. Ltd.; Australian Ethical Superannuation Fund,
Australia
Marion
Selig, Vice President, People for Animal Rights*,
Germany
Lotta
Suter, science editor, WochenZeitung, Zurich,
Switzerland
Maria
Barile, MSW, Eco-Access, Montreal, Canada
Benoit
Frappé, President, Parti de la Loi Naturelle*
Fabrizia
Pratesi, Coordinator, Comitato Scientifico Antivivisezionista*,
Italy
Maite
Aristegi, General Secretary, Basque Farmers' Union,
Spain
Helen
Groome, M.Sc., Ph.D., technical advisor, Basque Farmers' Union,
Spain
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