Key Senators Targeted by Advertising Campaign to Support 'Therapeutic Cloning'

4/24/2002

From: Julie Kimbrough, 646-734-6091 Maggie Goldberg, 973-379-2690 for the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research

WASHINGTON, April 24 -- 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.

Copies of the print ads and a radio script are attached. For an MP3 version of the radio ad, please visit www.camradvocacy.org.

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. For more information, please visit www.camradvocacy.org.