New panel for ethical issues

Article Abstract:

Two medical organizations, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the American Fertility Society (AFS), have announced they will set up a 15-member advisory board to develop ethical guidelines for reproductive and fetal tissue research. The board, called the National Advisory Board on Ethics in Reproduction, will be composed of lawyers, students of ethical matters, theologians, scientists, and the general public. The board will not have legal authority and will be supported by the ACOG and AFS, at least initially. Federal funding for research on in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer was cut during the Reagan administration; fetal tissue transplantation research lost federal funds under the current administration. The decision to discontinue fetal tissue research was made against the advice of a panel convened by the National Institutes of Health because some believe that allowing this research would encourage abortions. Thus, the new board will work with privately funded research proposals. It has accepted the mandate to ensure the ethical integrity of such research in lieu of federal interest. The legislative director of the National Right to Life Committee has criticized the Advisory Board on grounds that it threatens the 'pro-life' policies that have been established. Organizations concerned with Parkinson's disease and the Association of American Medical Colleges plan to challenge the legality of the government's ban on the use of federal funds for fetal tissue research. Research results using transplanted fetal tissue have brought a measure of hope to sufferers from that disease. Law suits from other groups may be forthcoming. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Science and technology policy, Ethical aspects, Reproductive technology, National Advisory Board of Ethics in Reproduction

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Fetal tissue: will ban provoke challenge?

Article Abstract:

A decision will be made on September 11, 1990 by the board of directors of the Parkinson's Disease Foundation (PDF) concerning whether they will sue the United States government. If filed, the lawsuit will be over the ban on the use of federal funds to support research on the transplantation of fetal tissue. Other groups that are considering lending their support to the legal challenge are the United Parkinson Foundation and the Association of American Medical Colleges. A temporary ban on fetal tissue research was issued in March 1988, and in November 1989 the ban was extended indefinitely by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Louis Sullivan. In early September 1990, a bill written by Representative Henry Waxman to overturn the ban will be considered. A legal study has found that the challenge to the government is strong because the HHS did not comply with the Administrative Procedure Act, which requires public notice and time for public comment before a rule is established. The study also concluded that Sullivan's decision to ban the research was "arbitrary and capricious" in that there was not a strong rationale behind the ban. There is a need for participation of other disease organizations to support the legal action and to share the legal costs. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Research, Management, Transplantation of organs, tissues, etc., Organ transplantation, Tissue transplantation, Transplantation, Parkinsonism, Association of American Medical Colleges

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Fetal tissue research: move to overturn ban

Article Abstract:

In 1988, the Assistant Secretary of Health introduced a temporary ban on the use of fetal tissue for medical research. The ban, which later was extended indefinitely, did not cover the use of fetal tissue in basic research, but did forbid the allocation of federal funds for research on the transplantation of fetal tissues into patients, such as individuals with Parkinson's disease. However, Henry Waxman, a Democratic congressman from California, has now introduced a bill which would overturn the ban, and change the implementation of similar bans in the future. The bill, called the Research Freedom Act of 1990, establishes the mechanisms by which ethical considerations regarding a research project could be addressed. Once approved by the researcher's institutional review board and the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) peer review group, funding could be denied only by a ethics advisory committee, which would consist of legal, ethical, religious, and scientific experts convened by the Secretary of Health. The bill is likely to stir up the heated emotions which surround the abortion issue. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

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