Subject: ESCR under attack -
CONTACT NIH TODAY!!!
Forwarded message
from Don Reed, national stem cell research advocate--
Dear Stem Cell Research
Advocate:
The next 2 days are crucial in the stem cell
research struggle.
Here's why.
Remember when President
Obama signed that document removing the Bush stem
cell
restrictions? That same day he called upon the National Institutes of
Health to draft a new set of guidelines for scientists wanting
federal
funding.
Those guidelines have just been issued.
see
http://stemcells.nih.gov/policy/2009draft.htm
The
next 14 days are the comment period for the new guidelines for stem
cell
research, which American scientists will have to live with
if they want
federal funding. This is the public's only chance to
shape those guidelines:
which can be improved-or made
worse.
Unfortunately, there are problems with the proposed
guidelines!
Not only are the guidelines far more conservative
than we had hoped, but
opponents of the research are
systematically flooding the comment process.
Conservative
religious bodies, have launched a national campaign to attack
early stem cell research by mass emails to the NIH.
*"The
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) launched a new
"Oppose Destructive Stem Cell Research" campaign today,
equipping citizens
to contact Congress and the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) to oppose
embryonic stem cell research
." -- WASHINGTON, May 6
/PRNewswire-USNewswire/
www.usccb.org/stemcellcampaign
Is
their anti-research campaign having an effect?
Dr. Wise Young
of Rutgers University , ". of the 6000 plus comments that NIH
has received concerning the draft guidelines, 99% were from
people who
opposed embryonic stem cell research."-Carecure
Forum
http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/showpost.php?p=1039001&postcount=12
Imagine
what the enemies of research will do with a statistic like that!
Think of the State Senators and Representatives who have to fight
for stem
cell funding-they will be hammered-no politician ever
wants to stand alone.
Supporters of stem cell research must be
heard.
To prevail, we need to do three things:
Inform ourselves,
Act individually,
Reach out to our networks
.
First, read this message all
the way through; it contains background
information from the
Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research
(CAMR), and
other sources.
Second, send your message to the government.
Click on the comment box you
will find at the following
url:
http://nihoerextra.nih.gov/stem_cells/add.htm
Third, SHARE THIS LETTER-or write your own-- email
all your contacts.
Any statement of support has impact. One
sentence can make a difference.
Click on the following to
contact National Institutes of
Health:
http://nihoerextra.nih.gov/stem_cells/add.htm
Your
comment can be as short as "I support embryonic stem cell
research, and am glad some of the restrictions are being loosened."
That matters.
Anyone who clicks on the comment box, and
writes in a sentence-that message
will be tallied as one citizen
in support. Of course, you may say more if
you want. If you are a
long-term research supporter, your letter will be put
in the
expert witness category.
But if you want to get more
involved in shaping the guidelines, that would be
helpful. The
guidelines are politically very timid, and must be
strengthened.
Problems are:
a "grandfather clause" is
needed to insure that every stem cell line already
approved
under the previous stringent guidelines will be eligible;
alternate
sources of stem cell lines such as SCNT should not be
excluded from funding, and more. (see CAMR comments below.)
But
every patient advocate in America must at least click on the comment
box, and make a statement in support of early stem cell research.
Click on the following to
contact National Institutes of
Health:
http://nihoerextra.nih.gov/stem_cells/add.htm
This
affects everyone in America, and the world. MORE THAN ONE PERSON IN A
FAMILY MAY COMMENT. Every adult friend or family member should
click and
make a comment-- as well as every scientist, medical
student, every teacher,
every parent-everyone who has a reason to
want stem cell therapies and
cures.
Here it is, one
more time: http://nihoerextra.nih.gov/stem_cells/add.htm.
Or,
send a letter (ideally on letterhead) to: NIH Stem Cell Guidelines,
MSC
7997, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda , Maryland ,
20892-7997
But whatever you are going to do, do it now. There
is very little time
before the May 26th deadline.
We have
worked hard, many years. We are so close. We must not falter
now.
Click on the button, send your comments in-do it today,
please.
And thanks. You make the difference: you are one of
the overworked few who
change the world.
P.S. Here is a
sample letter from Coalition for the Advancement of Medical
Research (CAMR)
You can copy and paste into Comment
section of NIH comment form and edit as appropriate for you.
Embryonic stem cell research holds great promise for
millions of Americans
suffering from many diseases and disorders.
I am not a scientist, but I
have been following progress in
this field with great interest. Significant
strides have
been made over the past decade, and the final guidelines issued
by
NIH must build on this progress so that cures and new therapies can
get
to patients as quickly as possible. The final
guidelines should not create
new bureaucratic hurdles that will
slow the pace of progress.
I am pleased that these draft
guidelines -- in Section II B -- would appear
to permit federal
funding of stem cell lines previously not eligible for
federal
funding and for new lines created in the future from surplus embryos
at fertility clinics. However, as drafted, Section II B does not
ensure that
any current stem cell line will meet the criteria
outlined and thus be
eligible for federal funding. It will
be important for the final guidelines
to allow federal funds for
research using all stem cell lines created by
following ethical
practices at the time they were derived. This will ensure
that
the final guidelines build on progress that has already been made.
I also believe that the final guidelines should permit
federal funding for
stem cell lines derived from sources other
than excess IVF embryos, such as
somatic cell nuclear transfer
(SCNT). Sections II B and IV of the draft
guidelines do not
permit such federal funding and I recommend that the final
guidelines provide federal funding using stem cell lines derived
in other
ways. If not, it is essential that the NIH
continue to monitor developments
in this exciting research area
and to update these guidelines as the
research progresses.
Thank
you!