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WRITER’S DIRECT DIAL NUMBER 
March 3, 1978 
NEWELL W. ELLISON 
JOHN G. LAYLIN 
H. THOMAS AUSTERN 
FONTAINE C. BRADLEY 
EDWARD BURLING, JR. 
J. HARRY COVINGTON 
COUNSEL 
JOHN SHERMAN COOPER 
OF COUNSEL 
TWX: 710 622-0005 
TELEX: 69-503 
CABLE: COVLINO 
Donald S. Fredrickson, M.D. 
Director 
National Institutes of Health 
Building 1, Room 124 
9000 Rockville Pike 
Bethesda, Maryland 20014 
Dear Don: 
This letter is an unfortunately delayed response 
to your request that each of the individuals who comprised 
the Advisory Committee which met with you on December 15-16, 
1977, to consider the proposed revisions of the current 
Guidelines for research on recombinant DNA molecules, fur- 
nish you with specific conclusions and recommendations. 
The following comments will expand upon my remarks at the 
end of the meeting. 
I 
As happened at the February 1976 meeting when the 
current Guidelines were being considered, the basic issue 
whether there should be any research on recombinant DNA 
molecules, and if so under what conditions, was clearly 
raised. Dr. Schwartz argued that all such research should 
be banned (by placing all of it under P4 restrictions) and 
Dr. Watson argued that the scientific community should be 
given total freedom to engage in such research (by eliminat- 
ing the present biological and physical containment measures 
and by revoking the current list of prohibited experiments) . 
Neither of these positions appeared to me to be persuasive, 
in light of all of the other information presented at the 
meeting . 
[Appendix A — 239] 
