PUBLIC AND SCIENTIFIC AFFAIRS BOARD 
AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR MICROBIOLOGY 
1913 I Street, N.W. 
Washington, D. C. 20006 
Telephone: Code 202, 833-9680 
September 27, 1984 
Dr. William Gartland 
Office of Recombinant DNA Activities 
National Institutes of Health 
NIAID-ORDA 
9000 Rockville Pike 
Building 31 
Room 3-B10 
Bethesda, Maryland 20205 
Dear Dr. Gartland: 
The Public and Scientific Affairs Board of the American Society for Microbiology 
(ASM) disagrees with Mr. Jeremy Rifkin's proposals for amending the National 
Institutes of Health (NIH) Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant DNA 
Molecules so as to prohibit certain categories of gene transfer experiments. 
The Board takes the position that any major change that categorically prohibits 
all experimentation in any area of science, besides being unenforceable and 
unrealistic, is highly undesirable since progress in the acquisition of basic 
knowledge in the area would be prevented. In the absence of scientific evidence 
demonstrating that hazards exist, we strongly oppose the two amendments proposed 
by Mr. Rifkin. 
The current NIH Guidelines as applied through the Recombinant DNA Advisory 
Committee have been functioning well. We see no reason for changing the 
Guidelines or for modifying our original position of support for the Recombinant 
DNA Advisory Committee and its mode of operation. 
Sincerely, 
Harlyn 0. Halvorson, Ph.D. 
Chairman, Public and Scientific 
Affairs Board 
Monica Riley, Ph?D. 
Chairman, Committee on 
Genetic and Molecular Microbiology 
cc: Dr. Ken Berns 
Dr. David Pramer 
Dr. Moselio Schaechter 
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