Sorry for the travel hiatus. Great trip to London. More to come on that later, but for now catching up on some great things in my inbox over the last week.

My friend sent me this from Bloomberg.com which is very interesting on the role the FDA has on approving clinical trials in humans using embryonic stem cells (which to date have only offered tumors!):

“The FDA is under public pressure to release new treatments quickly, and it must also assuage safety concerns that have resulted when approved medicines were found to have dangerous side effects after they gained widespread use, Pratt said.” “Don’t stand in the way of new medical therapies, and for God’s sake, don’t let any American get hurt,” Pratt said of the mixed regulatory message the FDA hears. “They don’t know where to draw the line on stem cells right now, and there’s no way they would.”

Also in Bloomberg.com was this piece on the German vote which was passed and will now allow scientists more expansive use of human embryonic stem cells for their research. The previous law only allowed the use of embryonic stem cells created six years ago. The new law allows the use of human embryonic stem cells created as recently as May of 2007.

And this piece about cloning technology enabling us to create our children! The article comes complete with this visual aid on the new cloning method!

Author Profile

Jennifer Lahl, CBC Founder
Jennifer Lahl, CBC Founder
Jennifer Lahl, MA, BSN, RN, is founder and president of The Center for Bioethics and Culture Network. Lahl couples her 25 years of experience as a pediatric critical care nurse, a hospital administrator, and a senior-level nursing manager with a deep passion to speak for those who have no voice. Lahl’s writings have appeared in various publications including Cambridge University Press, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Dallas Morning News, and the American Journal of Bioethics. As a field expert, she is routinely interviewed on radio and television including ABC, CBS, PBS, and NPR. She is also called upon to speak alongside lawmakers and members of the scientific community, even being invited to speak to members of the European Parliament in Brussels to address issues of egg trafficking; she has three times addressed the United Nations during the Commission on the Status of Women on egg and womb trafficking.