ANN ARBOR DEMOCRATIC PARTY 
RECOMBINANT DNA RESEARCH - PLATFORM STATEMENT 
APRIL, 1978 
In 1974, in an unprecedented move, leading biological scientists 
called for a moratorium on the use of new experimental procedures known 
as recombinant DNA research techniques. Using these procedures, the genes 
of plant, animal or bacterial species can be spliced together with the 
genes of an unrelated species and inserted into a host organism (usually 
al bacterium) which then can continue to grow and reproduce. The properties, 
both good and bad, of the organism which is thus created cannot be predicted 
in advance with certainty. Due to concern for possible hazardous effects, 
the National Institutes of Health (NIH) wrote and adopted guidelines to 
regulate research funded by the NIH. These guidelines govern the research 
that is performed at the University of Michigan. However, private 
laboratories capable of doing this research are not governed by the NIH 
guidelines. Debate continues within the scientific community concerning 
the hazards of recombinant DNA research and significant disagreement exists 
over its safety. 
It is the responsiblility of the Ann Arbor City Council to ensure 
the health, welfare and safety of its citizens. To fulfill this re- 
sponsibility, the Ann Arbor Democrats believe that private and public 
recombinant DNA research should be subject to local review and approval. 
Democrats believe that Council should actively demand a review role in the 
University's decision-making on this issue. Further, Democrats believe 
that an ordinance must be enacted to place private laboratories under the 
same strictures as the University laboratories. 
[A-281] 
