Federal Funding Lack May Lead to Ethical Problems in Stem Cell Research, Says Leading Bioethicist and Legal Expert in Biotechnology Law Report.

Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers

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LARCHMONT, N.Y.--(BW HealthWire)--Nov. 1, 2001

Withdrawal of federal funding for stem cell research in the U.S. will foster privatization of this important field of medical research and may lead to ethical problems in the marketing of human embryos, says Alexander Morgan Capron, University Professor of Law and Medicine of the University of Southern California, a leader in the legal analysis of biotechnology and a member since 1996 of the National Bioethics Advisory Commission.

His comments appear in "Stem Cells: Ethics, Law and Politics," a thorough examination, detailed history and analysis of the debate on the use of stem cells in U.S. medical research published in the October 2001 issue (Volume 20, Number 5) of Biotechnology Law Report. The bimonthly journal, now in its twentieth year, is published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., Publishers (www.liebertpub.com) in cooperation with California Western School of Law. Professor Capron's paper may be viewed free online at www.liebertpub.com/blr.

"In the U.S., with a prohibition on federal funding for IVF (in vitro fertilization)-related research, and no central authority to regulate it, all embryo research is in private hands," says Professor Capron. "Ironically, one of the objections to funding IVF research was that it might lead to the creation of markets for human reproductive materials. If the IVF story foretells anything for the unfolding stem cell story, it is that the withdrawal of the federal government from the arena may only add to the process of commodification, commercialization, and exploitation of the vulnerable. As the President's policy is implemented by researchers and scrutinized by the public, Congress ought to be willing to ask whether a better policy cannot be crafted."

"Professor Capron's article analyzes both the scientific and philosophical issues surrounding this highly controversial area of research," said Robert A. Bohrer, executive editor of Biotechnology Law Report and Professor of Law at California Western School of Law, San Diego. "His conclusion -- that the absence of federal involvement in the process can only negatively affect the direction of research, both scientifically and ethically -- is a significant contribution to the ongoing debate."

"In this case, science has disrupted politics rather than the other way around," says Professor Capron, who is also co-director of the Pacific Center for Health Policy & Ethics and Henry W. Bruce Professor of Law at USC. "This article examines the scientific aspects of stem cell research and how the science came to be entangled with politics, with a look at the policy options that were before President Bush and that remain before Congress; the ethical debate, which has almost certainly not been resolved by the President's decision; and the resulting legal problems, which have their own complexities."

Biotechnology Law Report stands as an authoritative record since 1982 of the evolving body of law and government regulations in the field, particularly in the pharmaceutical, chemical, agricultural, food processing, energy, mineral recovery, and waste treatment industries. A quick, efficient source of up-to-date information on legal, patent, technology transfer, and regulatory decisions, the journal carries in-depth articles by leading international experts on current issues, with full texts of critical and often difficult-to-obtain documents. Published in print and online, it is indexed in BioBusiness, Abstracts in BioCommerce, BioCommerce Abstracts and Directory, Biotechnology Citation Index (ISI), ISI Alerting Services, and SciSearch/Science Citation Index--Expanded (ISI). Editor in chief is Gerry J. Elman.

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in new and promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Tissue Engineering, Human Gene Therapy, e-biomed: The Journal of Regenerative Medicine, Biotech Software & Internet Report: The Computer Software Journal for Scientists, and the forthcoming Election Law Review. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 60 journals, books, and newsletters is available at www.liebertpub.com.