Dr. William J. Gartland 
October 10, 1984 
Page 
Second, the proposal fails to distinguish between the 
transfer of any trait and the transfer of a sufficiently 
significant or unique trait between particular species that might 
justify a prohibition. Confining myself solely to the transfer 
of traits to or from human beings, I believe that it is possible 
to conceive of certain transfers (such as those involving human 
beings' intellectual capabilities) that are pr ima facie 
unacceptable (by which I mean that they are unacceptable on their 
face and that the burden of showing them to be otherwise should 
rest with the proponents of making such transfers). So far as I 
know, however, the conclusion reached by the President's 
Commission in 1982 (in its report Spilicinq Life , with which I 
know that you and the RAC members are thoroughly familiar) still 
stands: none of the experiments now being contemplated reach this 
limit. Therefore, even a much more precise and less sweeping 
proposal than the ones put forward by Mr. Rifkin would not be 
just i f ied. 
I hope that these comments are useful for your 
del iberat ions . 
Sincerely, 
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