4030 AMH BENS BLAC 047

HJM 4030 - H AMD

By Representative Benson

Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:

"TO THE HONORABLE GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED, AND TO THE SECRETARY OF THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND TO THE DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH:

We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:

WHEREAS, An estimated one hundred twenty-eight million Americans suffer from chronic, degenerative, and acute diseases and conditions; and

WHEREAS, The crippling economic and psychological burdens of chronic, degenerative, and acute diseases result in billions of dollars every year in costs of treatment and lost productivity and these estimates do not consider the extreme human loss and emotional suffering; and

WHEREAS, Human stem cell research is currently offering immense promise for developing new medical therapies for debilitating diseases and could lead to unprecedented treatments and potential cures for multiple sclerosis, stroke, cancer, Parkinson's disease, and heart disease; and

WHEREAS, The National Bioethics Advisory Commission has found that research on adult stem cells may have important applications in medical research and should be pursued; and

WHEREAS, The United States has historically been a haven for open scientific inquiry and technological innovation and is the world leader in biomedicine and biotechnology; and

WHEREAS, All ethical considerations of using stem cells in research must be weighed before engaging in such research, including the potential to save and preserve lives and reduce human suffering through new treatments and cures; and

WHEREAS, Human embryonic stem cells have the potential for life, using them for research would cross a fundamental moral line;

WHEREAS, Stem cell research holds enormous potential for treating or even curing some diseases, the cloning of human beings is morally and ethically unacceptable;

NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that federal funding be made widely available to support research involving human adult stem cells, including somatic cell nuclear transplantation, upon full consideration of the ethical and medical implications of this research.

BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable George W. Bush, President of the United States, the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, the Director of the National Institutes of Health, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the State of Washington."

EFFECT: Changes the request to the federal government to support research involving human embryonic stem cells and human embryonic germ cells to a request to support research involving human adult stem cells. Changes background information about the potential uses and applications of human embryonic stem cell research to the potential uses and applications of human adult stem cell research. Adds a background statement that the use of human embryonic stem cells for research is not moral.