Contact: Sean Tipton, 202-863-2494 or 202-421-5112, stipton@asrm-dc.org
Julie Kimbrough, 203-438-8211, or 646-734-6091, juliekimbrough@earthlink.net
Dan Drummond, 202-585-2591 or 202-243-8621, ddrummond@webershandwick.com

Coalition of Patient Groups and Scientists Call on Senator Frist To Follow House GOP Leadership's Lead in Scheduling Vote on H.R. 810

The bill, which is S. 471 in the Senate, was passed 238-194 by the House of Representatives on May 24. The House-passed legislation would allow federally supported scientists to study additional stem cell lines, expand research among America's top academic researchers and accelerate the cure and treatment of diseases that affect over 100 million Americans. H.R. 810 imposes ethical and legal regulations on the research even as it expands Federal research of additional stem cell lines from voluntarily donated in vitro fertilization (IVF) embryos that will otherwise be discarded.

"Unfortunately, while Senator Frist has committed to bringing H.R. 810 and its Senate counterpart S. 471 up for debate, it is only being permitted as part of a lopsided 5 to 1 package that amounts to a legislative mugging of stem cell research," said CAMR President Daniel Perry.

Patient groups and their Senate allies have complained that opponents of embryonic stem cell research are preparing an array of would-be alternatives to H.R. 810 that promote untested and ethically questionable scientific theories, and some bills impose crippling new prohibitions on promising stem cell research.

"Patients and their families deserve to have stem cell research debated in a fair fight, without bogus 'ethical alternatives' the sole intent of which is to confuse the issue or impose new limitations on this promising medical research," said Perry.

"We know embryonic stem cell research holds immense promise, it's ethical, and a clear majority of the American public demands their government support it," he added.

Opponents of a "clean" H.R. 810 are promoting alternative means of deriving stem cell lines from excess IVF embryos, but because the alternatives have yet to be proven they cannot be considered substitutes for embryonic stem cells. Also, these alternative techniques are already allowed under federal law. But the National Institutes of Health has also said some methods would not qualify for federal funds because they are too risky and cross an ethical line.

"The time has come to put science and patients first," said Perry. "The American people are waiting for Senator Frist and his colleagues to do the right thing and allow a vote on, literally, a life-saving piece of legislation without an unfair one-sided 5 bills to1 fixed fight debate."

The Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research (CAMR) is the nation's leading pro-cures coalition. It is comprised of nationally-recognized patient organizations, universities, scientific societies, and foundations 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 individuals with life-threatening illnesses and disorders.