For immediate release:
For further information:  Legfederal@aol.com, www.nrlc.org

WASHINGTON – In a new radio ad, the Iowa Right to Life Committee and National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) ask citizens to phone Senator Tom Harkin (D) to urge him to follow the lead of the Iowa legislature and abandon his opposition to the Brownback-Landrieu bill (S. 1899), which would ban the cloning of human embryos. The ad begins running on WHO in Des Moines today, and will run in coming days on many other stations throughout the state.

The ad, titled "Senator Harkin, Phone Home!," highlights last week’s overwhelming approval by the Iowa legislature of a ban on all forms of human cloning. The bill (SF 2118, by Senator Redwine) passed 92 to 1 in the state house and 39 to 10 in the state senate. It is currently awaiting action by Governor Tom Vilsack (D). Meanwhile, in Washington, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) has promised Senate action on the Brownback-Landrieu bill before a congressional recess that begins May 24.

The radio ad takes the form of a conversation between a man and a woman about the human cloning issue, starting with a reference to an April 10 speech on human cloning by President Bush, in which the President urged the Senate to quickly pass the Brownback-Landrieu bill, which would place a national ban on the cloning of human embryos. (The speech is posted at www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/04/print/20020410-4.html )

"He [President Bush] warned this must be done quickly, or we’ll end up with human ‘embryo farms’," the man says. The woman replies by referring to the overwhelming votes in the Iowa state legislature and adds, "Now if Governor Vilsack will sign the bill, there will be no human embryo farms here in Iowa!"

The man responds, "But in Washington, Senator Harkin is leading the fight against the bill to ban cloning of human embryos – the Brownback bill." He then quotes a statement made by Harkin at a congressional hearing on cloning: "Human cloning will take place in my lifetime and I don’t fear it. I welcome it." The woman replies, "Doesn’t he know the difference between animals and human beings?" The ad concludes with a request for listeners who "agree with President Bush, Senator Grassley, and the Iowa legislature that cloning human embryos should be banned" to call Senator Harkin’s office to urge him to change his position and "support the only real ban on human cloning – the Brownback bill." (The bill is sponsored by Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Ks., and Mary Landrieu, D-La.)

Senator Harkin, who is now the chairman of the Senate appropriations subcommittee with jurisdiction over biomedical research, since 1997 has been the U.S. senator most vocally opposed to meaningful restrictions on human cloning. The statement in the ad was made at a March 12, 1997 hearing, at which Harkin compared attempts to restrict human cloning to 17^th century sanctions against Galileo, and stated: "Some would have us believe that Dolly [the sheep that was the first cloned mammal to be born] is a wolf in sheep’s clothing" but that "human cloning will take place in my lifetime and I don’t fear it. I welcome it." (Washington Post, March 13, 1997, copy available on request).

This year, Harkin introduced his own bill (S. 1893) which, although labeled as a "human cloning ban," would actually allow human embryos to be cloned in any numbers and for any reason, but then make it a crime for anyone to implant a cloned human embryo "into a woman’s uterus or a substitute for a woman’s uterus." Pro-life opponents point out that this bill would establish a "clone and kill" policy, under which human lives would be created for the sole purpose of using them in experiments, with their destruction required by federal law.

"Senator Harkin’s bill would allow the establishment of human embryo farms, but then make a felon of anyone who tries to sustain the life of a cloned human embryo – a true clone-them-to-kill-them policy," commented NRLC Legislative Director Douglas Johnson. "Senator Harkin’s bill is as far as you can get from the true cloning ban bill that was passed overwhelmingly by the Iowa legislature. We hope that Senator Harkin will ‘phone home’ and abandon his crusade to protect the biotech labs that want to clone, patent, and sell human embryos."

NRLC and its affiliates are also launching radio ads, beginning today and over the next few days, in seven other states: Indiana, South Dakota, North Dakota, Missouri, Rhode Island, Georgia, and Arkansas. Transcripts of all of the ads will be posted on the NRLC website at www.nrlc.org/Killing_Embryos/Index.html, along with further information on the Brownback-Landrieu bill and the competing "clone and kill" legislation (such as Sen. Harkin’s bill) being pushed by the biotechnology industry. The website also contains mp3 audio files of all of the ads, which can be downloaded or played at the site. For documentation on any of the statements made in any of the radio ads, contact the NRLC Federal Legislative Office at (202) 626-8820 or at Legfederal@aol.com. For information on the broad coalition of pro-life groups, environmental organizations, women’s health organizations, and other groups supporting the Brownback-Landrieu bill, see www.cloninginformation.org.

Iowa 60-second radio ad

NARRATOR: This is a message from Iowa and National Right to Life.

MAN: I see that President Bush urged the Senate to pass the Brownback bill to ban the cloning of human embryos. He warned this must be done quickly, or we’ll end up with human "embryo farms."

WOMAN: Well, as usual, Iowa is way ahead of the curve. Our legislature just passed a bill to ban ALL human cloning – 92 to 1 in the House and 39 to 10 in the state senate. Now if Governor Vilsack will sign the bill, there will be no human embryo farms here in Iowa!

MAN: But in Washington, Senator Harkin is leading the fight AGAINST the bill to ban cloning of human embryos – the Brownback bill.

WOMAN: Get out of here!

MAN: No, really! Harkin said: "Human cloning will take place in my lifetime and I don’t fear it. I welcome it."

WOMAN: Doesn’t he know the difference between animals and human beings?

NARRATOR: If you agree with President Bush, Senator Grassley, and the Iowa legislature, that cloning human embryos should be banned, please urge Tom Harkin to support the only REAL ban on human cloning – the Brownback bill! Call him in Des Moines, at 515-284-4574.

Other versions:

in Dubuque, at 563-582-2130
in Sioux City, at 712-252-1550
in Cedar Rapids, at 319-365-4504
in Davenport, at 563-322-1338