PUBLIC STATEMENTS

A Call to Senator Kent Conrad, Senator Byron Dorgan, and the People of North Dakota to Support Legislation Prohibiting All Human Cloning

NORTH DAKOTA --   The United States Senate will soon consider legislation to prohibit all human cloning.  A complete ban on cloning has already passed the House of Representatives and has the support of President George W. Bush.  We, the undersigned, support a ban on all human cloning, whether for scientific experimentation or human reproduction.  Although the reasons for our positions, as well as our positions on reproductive issues, may differ, we agree that human embryos should not be cloned for any reason.  Human cloning, whether to produce a baby or for medical research, is an affront to human dignity, unnecessary, and potentially dangerous.

we urge our U.S. Senators to support a ban on all human cloning and reject legislation that allows cloning for research purposes.  Legislation that permits cloning for research does not ban cloning at all, but only guarantees the destruction of all cloned human embryos through research. Finally, we urge all North Dakotans to join us in expressing support for legislation prohibiting all human cloning.

(Titles and organizational listings of the signers below is for identification purposes only.)

Bishop Michael J. Coyner, Dakotas Conference of the United Methodist Church
Bishop - Coadjutor Samuel J. Aquila, Roman Catholic Diocese of Fargo
Bishop Paul A. Zipfel, Roman Catholic Diocese of Bismarck
Bishop Andrew H. Fairfield, Episcopal Diocese of North Dakota
Mark Trechock, Staff Director, Dakota Resource Council
Fred Kirschenmann, Ph.D., Kirschenmann Family Farms
Steve Cates, Chairman, North Dakota Family Alliance
Gary Goreham, Ph.D., North Dakota State University
Terri Mostad, M.D.
Robert F. Agnew, M.D., Past President, Christian Medical and Dental Associations
Dexter Perkins, Ph.D., Chairman, Dakota Chapter of the Sierra Club
Aaron Krauter, State Senator - Regent
Larry Woiwode, Author
Thomas W. Kempf, M.D.
Jim Poolman, North Dakota Insurance Commissioner
Stacey Pfliiger, Executive Director, North Dakota Right to Life
Chris Burd, Ph.D., RN,  University of North Dakota College of Nursing
Daniel M. Traynor, Chairman, North Dakota Republican Party
Carolyn Raffensperger, Executive Director, Science and Environmental Health Network
Otto J. Helweg, Ph.D.,  North Dakota State University
Norm Stuhlmiller, Senior Advocate
Stephen Nelson, M.D.
Howard Dahl, President, Amity Technology
George and Jane Sinner, Former Governor and First Lady