For Immediate Release
February 27, 2002

Contact:
Mark Helm
202-783-7400 x102
202-270-3650 cell

SENATE ASKED TO PREVENT CLONING BY NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERS

Washington DC - Nine nationally recognized environmental leaders sent a letter today to the U.S. Senate requesting action to prevent human cloning. The letter calls for:

A ban on human reproductive cloning and inheritable genetic modifications, including "designer babies."

A moratorium on the creation of clonal human embryos for research, while alternatives are explored and strict government regulation is established to prevent abuses of this technology

An international convention under the auspices of the United Nations to bring the new human genetic technologies within the ambit of responsible global governance.

"Human cloning is opposed by an overwhelming majority of Americans," said Friends of the Earth President Dr. Brent Blackwelder. "The Senate must impose an immediate ban on reproductive cloning and enact strict regulation of research that might rely on embryo cloning."

The letter supports research that would help determine the therapeutic potential of human stem cells but opposes the unrestricted creation of clonal embryos as part of such research to avoid the risks of fully-formed human clones eventually being born and of the technology being used to alter the human species.

While many organizations are still developing their policies on this rapidly emerging issue, the individuals and groups signing the letter wanted to make a clear statement that cloning and inheritable genetic modification should be prevented while the issue is before the U.S. Senate.