September 4, 1984 
Southern Illinois University 
School of Medicine 
Southern Illinois University at Carbondale 
Carbondale, Illinois 62901 
Medical Physiology and Pharmacology 
Life Science II 
Dr. William Gartland, Executive Secretary 
Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee 
National Institutes of Health 
Buildi ng 31 , Room 3B10 
9000 Rockville Pike 
Bethesda, MD 20205 
Dear Dr. Gartland: 
I am writing to express my deepest concern about the amendment to NIH 
guidelines for recombinant DNA experimentation as proposed by Jeremy Rif kin 
on behalf of the Foundation on Economic Trends, 1346 Connecticut Ave., NW, 
Washington, D.C. This amendment would prohibit any experiments involving 
interspecies transfer of genetic material. 
Passage of the proposed amendment would effectively halt research in many 
areas of molecular biology, genetics, developmental biology and agriculture. 
The stated rationale for this amendment is concern for species integrity. 
While preservation of the germplasm of wild species and domestic breeds is 
clearly a valid concern, it is difficult to see how research referred to 
in Mr. Rif kin's letter threatens continued existence of animal species or 
represents an assault on their fundamental rights. Rather, studies of these 
type should be viewed as attempts to exploit the most modern "state-of-the- 
art" methodology for elucidating fundamental mechanisms which control gene 
expression and development. The benefits of progress in this field to man- 
kind through advances in medicine and agriculture are too numerous to discuss. 
Should specific experiments mentioned in the amendment ever lead to practical 
applications, one could envisage development of domestic animals with improved 
growth rate, efficiency of food utilization and disease resistance. If these 
goals could be achieved via incorporation of "foreign" genes into the germ 
line of these species, they would render this approach most meritorious and 
could indeed help to relieve the species in question from housing and feeding 
regimens which are considered by at least some groups within our society as 
stressful and inhumane and eliminate usage of antibiotics and other drugs 
from agri-business routine practices. 
Should we go one step further and assume that animal genes could ever be 
successfully incorporated into the human, we should consider a possibility 
of permanent cure of inherited developmental, mental or metabolic disorders. 
These possibilities, while presently being closer to science fiction books 
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