Back to the Moon or Cures-What's More Important?

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A reminder to please write/email your representatives regarding senate bills s.303 and s.245.

CC:  Senators Levin and Stabenow, Michigan.

        Vice President Cheney

Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research-CANDIDATES' POSITIONS!

Dear Mr. President:

The three paragraphs shown below were copied from an article that appeared in AOL News-"Back to the Moon," December 5.  In my opinion, we have higher priorities here on Earth developing "cures" for millions of chronically ill people.  We need to direct our precious resources toward medical R & D regarding "somatic cell nuclear transfer."  According to most scientists SCNT offers great potential for "cures".  Please provide your leadership to fully develop this  potential NOW!   Please put the welfare of millions of chronically ill people ahead of space.

One paragraph states that the Apollo mission cost $150 billion to $175 billion in 2003 dollars.  Our national effort in basic medical research (NIH) was only $13.6 billion in 1999. By way of comparison, Intel spent $7 billion and employed 12,000 people in R & D in 1999. Why does our govenment place the value of chronically ill people so low?

EXCERPTS FROM AOL NEWS ARTICLE--"Back to the Moon", December 5, 2003

"Quoting unidentified Bush administration sources, two publications have reported that the president wants Americans to return to the moon after an absence of three decades, and perhaps establish a base..............................................

"Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kansas, even talked about a space race between the United States and China, which put its first astronaut into space this fall."...............................

"McCurdy said the Apollo mission cost $150 billion to $175 billion in 2003 dollars, and that a new effort would also be costly. But he said that's not really the point: "In some ways, it's like a yacht. If you have to ask, you can't afford it."

NOTE: Senator Brownback, as well as the majority of scientists, is against human cloning.  However, Brownback is also against therapeutic stem cell research for developing cures for chronic illnesses, and that includes "somatic cell nuclear transfer" (SCNT).  President Bush has severely restricted SCNT research by limiting the stem lines that may be used. The majority of scientists favor therapeutic stem cell reseacrch including SCNT.

Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research: FAQ