NEWS RELEASE


April 16, 2003

Demonstration to protest Sen. Specter's support for human cloning

People for Life will conduct a demonstration on Thursday, April 17, 2003 to expose Sen. Arlen Specter's enthusiastic support for human cloning. The demonstration will take place from 1:30 PM to 2:30 PM on E. 38th St., at the main entrance to Mercyhurst College, where Sen. Specter will be conducting a Town Meeting.

Although Sen. Specter continues to oppose any legislation that would ban the cloning of human embryos, he tries to conceal his position by insisting that he merely supports "somatic cell nuclear transfer," or "nuclear transplantation," but not "cloning." However, the former two terms are nothing but scientific jargon for "cloning." The Senator also continues to assert that he advocates only the harvesting of embryonic stem cells from "leftover" human embryos from fertility clinics - even though he opposes a ban on human cloning precisely because he wants to ensure that human embryos can be cloned specifically for use in medical research and, theoretically, in medical treatments at some point in the future.

When used in medical research, the living human embryo is destroyed.

At a February 5, 2003 press conference to announce the introduction of a bill (S.303) that would specifically allow the cloning of human embryos for medical research, Sen. Specter told reporters that the bill would allow research only on surplus embryos that have been created for another purpose, embryos that are going to be discarded anyway - a huge misstatement!

The Senator's lack of candor about his support for human cloning is almost certainly due to the fact that a large majority of Americans oppose ALL human cloning and support efforts to enact a comprehensive ban. The U.S. House of Representatives recently approved such a ban by a vote of 241-155. A companion bill (S.245) is awaiting action in the U.S. Senate.



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