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You can easily send an e-mail or print a letter for your assemblyperson, if you go to NYSCatholicConference.org and click "Take Action."

This is their suggested e-mail that gives some background, but you can write your own, or even revise theirs, as well:

"I write to urge you to oppose A. 6300 by Assemblyman Sheldon Silver, a bill that would permit -- and fund -- the cloning of human beings who will be destroyed as embryos for the purpose of harvesting their stem cells. This is human experimentation and I strongly oppose it. I understand this bill is scheduled to be voted on soon.

I am certainly sympathetic to the plight of those who suffer debilitating diseases and injuries. This is why I strongly urge you to support ethical and successful adult stem cell research and reject cloning and embryonic stem cell research. The success realized to date in clinical trials with adult stem cells is so promising, for persons afflicted with diabetes, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, cancers and many other ailments. Legislation to encourage embryonic stem cell research will only divert resources, energy and funding away from successful adult stem cell therapies.

So-called "therapeutic" cloning, the creation and destruction of living human embryos, is unethical and unnecessary. As a taxpayer, I also believe it is fiscally irresponsible. As my representative in Albany, I urge you to oppose this bill (A.6300) to legalize and finance embryonic stem cell research.

Please inform me of your views on this subject. Thank you for your attention to this critical matter."