Urgent Congressional Alert:

                   U.S. Senate to Vote on Human Embryo Cloning Ban

                                                   At Any Time!

                                                             

WASHINGTON (May 7, 2002) -- The U.S. Senate is on the verge of votes on one of the most important pro-life issues that it has ever conducted:  Whether to ban the cloning of human embryos.

For a detailed report on recent developments, see “Biotech Lobby and Patient Groups Urge Senate to Say Yes to Human Cloning,” on page 1.

Please urge ALL U.S. senators to support S. 1899, sponsored by Senators Sam Brownback and Mary Landrieu.  The Brownback-Landrieu bill  is the ONLY pending bill that would really ban human cloning.

Also urge them to oppose “clone and kill” legislation that would permit the cloning of human embryos but prohibit their survival (such as bills proposed by Senators Specter and Feinstein, S. 2439, and Senators Dorgan and Johnson, S. 2076).  These bills would permit the establishment of human “embryo farms” and the federally mandated mass destruction of human embryos.

Please urge your fellow citizens to do the same.  Time is short.

 

                                            ACTION REQUIRED

 

Beginning immediately, pro-life citizens should phone, fax, and/or e-mail the offices of both U.S. Senators for their states.

Because of heightened security on Capitol Hill, regular mail is being delayed for long periods, and SHOULD NOT BE relied on at this time.

Information on how to send e-mails to a specific senator, and in some cases fax numbers, may be obtained at the website http://www.senate.gov/.  (Always be sure to include your regular return mailing address in e-mails, so that the senator’s staff can see that you are a constituent.)  This website will lead you to the home pages of your own senators, where contact information is available.

Please utilize newsletters, church bulletins, call-in radio shows, and other means to alert pro-life citizens to this crucial fight.  Also, write short letters to the letters columns of local newspapers, highlighting the critical votes that senators will soon cast.

 

Here are the key message points:

 

•  Urge the senators to vote for the bill (S. 1899) backed by President Bush and sponsored by Senators Sam Brownback (R-Ks.) and Mary Landrieu (D-La.) [pronounced “lan-drew”].  THIS IS THE ONLY BILL THAT REALLY BANS ALL FORMS OF HUMAN CLONING.

 

•  Don’t be deceived by senators who say that they oppose “the cloning of human beings,” but support some bill other than Brownback-Landrieu!  The Brownback-Landrieu bill is the ONLY bill that bans the cloning of human embryos.  Urge the senators to oppose the counterproposals, such as those introduced by Senator Arlen Specter (S. 2439) and Senator Byron Dorgan (S. 2076), that would permit the cloning of human embryos and the establishment of human embryo farms.  These bills are falsely labeled as bans on “human cloning,” but in reality they allow human embryos to be created by cloning, while making it a crime to allow any such human embryo to survive.  These “clone and kill” sham bills must be defeated before the Senate can pass a true ban on human cloning.

 

•  If you obtain information on any senator's position (including information reported in the press), please forward it to NRLC by e-mail to Legfederal@aol.com (preferred), or by fax to (202) 347-3668, or by regular mail to NRLC, Federal Legislation, 512-10th Street Northwest, Washington, D.C.  20004-1401.

 

How to Contact Senators

 

•  PHONE CALLS can be directed to the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.  Ask for your senator’s office.  Once connected, explain that you are a constituent, politely convey your position in support of the Brownback-Landrieu bill (S. 1899), and ask for a written response explaining the senator’s position.

•  Information on how to send E-MAIL to any specific senator is  available by going to the Senate website at www.senate.gov, and then clicking to your senator’s home page.  Be sure to include your regular mailing address in the text of your e-mails, so that the senators know that the messages are coming from their constituents.

 

•  FAXES can be sent to Senate offices that publish a fax number (see www.senate.gov).

 

•  REGULAR MAIL can be sent to Senator ___________, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C.  20510 –  BUT REGULAR MAIL IS CURRENTLY BEING DELAYED BY SECURITY MEASURES AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED ON.

 

•  PUBLIC EVENTS:  Senators often visit their home states to participate in public events, especially during congressional recesses.  Congress will be in recess from May 24 until June 3.  Pro-life citizens should take advantage of any opportunities to speak directly with senators about this urgent issue.

 

For Further Information

Further information on the human cloning issue is available on the NRLC website  under “Federal Legislation:  Killing Human Embryos”

A number of excellent factsheets on the human cloning issue have been issued by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.  They are available at the USCCB website at www.usccb.org/prolife/issues/bioethic/factsheets.htm.

In addition, “Americans to Ban Cloning,” a coalition of anti-cloning groups, maintains an excellent website that contains much useful information: http://www.cloninginformation.org/

 

                                                  Don’t Assume!

 

Do not assume that pro‑abortion senators are necessarily opposed to the Brownback legislation.   The proposed ban on cloning human embryos is receiving strong support from a number of organizations that are not pro‑life on issues such as abortion, but which believe that human cloning ‑‑ including the cloning of human embryos ‑‑ must be banned immediately.  One self-described “pro-choice” senator, Mary Landrieu (D-La.), is the primary cosponsor of the Brownback bill.

On the other hand, do not assume that every pro‑life senator will  automatically vote for the Brownback legislation.  Some are inclined to accept claims that what they sometimes call  “therapeutic cloning” is necessary to advance medical science.  It is important that these senators understand that a vote in favor of a clone-and-kill bill is a vote in favor of human embryo farms and the establishment of a new industry based on the creation and patenting of members of the species homo sapiens for profit.