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B. NIH Prohibition of Funding of All Experiments with 
Recombinant DNA 
NIH could refuse to fund any recombinant DNA experiments. Because 
NIH funds a large proportion of the Nation's biomedical research effort, 
a reduction in risks might be achieved by total NIH prohibition. Such 
research would not cease, however, since it would still be supported 
by non -NIH funds both in this country and abroad. 
At the time of the issuance of the NIH Guidelines, the British govern- 
ment had formally accepted the Ashby report, which concluded that 
recombinant DNA techniques would continue to be used in Britain. The 
U.K. Guidelines to implement this appeared in August 1976, two months 
after the NIH Guidelines were released. As described later, the 16 
member nations of the European Science Foundation and Canada, the 
Soviet Union, and Japan have all declared intentions to continue using 
the recombinant DNA technology under guidelines that are similar to 
NIH's. If the hypothetical risks presumed to lie in this research are 
realized, they are quite unlikely to respect national boundaries or to be 
contained geographically. 
On the other side, if NIH refused to fund any recombinant DNA 
experiments, its important role in biomedical research makes it very 
probable that the development of basic knowledge derived from this 
technology and the possible realization of benefits would be significantly 
delayed. It is widely anticipated that a variety of research --impacting 
on health and other areas of human concern--will benefit from recom- 
binant DNA technology (see Section IV-C-2). 
American scientists have played a leading role in bringing the 
potential hazards of recombinant DNA research to the attention of 
scientists, governments, and international organizations. As a result, 
there is an effort to adopt safety procedures for the conduct of this 
research in many countries. Although nations differ in their perceptions 
of the need to adopt safety measures, and of what the exact measures 
should be, the NIH Guidelines are being used as an important model. 
NIH prohibition of the work would undermine American leadership in 
the establishment of worldwide standards for safety. 
It is estimated that there are approximately 150 recombinant DNA 
projects under way in Europe and perhaps 20 to 25 in Canada, Australia, 
Japan, and the Soviet Union. All are being conducted under some form 
of safety practice and procedure. 
It should be noted that a number of bills have been introduced into 
the U. S. Congress in the last year. None called for prohibition of 
funding of all experiments with recombinant DNA. A number of local 
communities in the United States have studied the issue; none called 
for total prohibition. 
