Category Archives: Reactions

Embryo Stem Cell Research–Politics and Science are Still Entangled

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Lori Andrews by Lori Andrews

On Monday, President Obama gave the green light for federal funding of embryo stem cell research. Stem cell research provides potential new treatments. Embryonic cells can develop into all the types of cells in the body. In the future, doctors might be able to repair damaged hearts by inserting new heart cells or help people walk with the use of embryonically-derived nerve cells.

Prior to Obama's actions, the existing Bush position reflected a pro-life religious belief that an eight-cell embryo is a person and stem cell research, which of necessity destroys the embryo, is murder. In August 2001, Bush addressed the nation and said that he would only allow federal funding for research on existing embryonic cell lines. Bush did not want to be a party to the termination of any further embryos, but he would allow research on cell lines where the embryos had been terminated in the past.

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Coerced Korean Egg Donor Loses Case

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JulieBergerBy Julie Burger

Debate over embryonic stem cells heats up once again, between proponents claiming the technology will be a panacea to cure the world's ills and opponents contesting the hype and raising ethical and legal issues.  One such issue hit the Korean courts on February 18—the coercion of egg donors.  The saga began when Hwang Woo-Suk, a South Korean researcher, was hailed for his groundbreaking research after he reported in Science in 2004 that he had successfully cultivated human embryonic stem cells from cloned embryos.  One year later, he reported the creation of patient-specific stem cells.  Both articles were retracted after reports surfaced that much of Hwang's work had been fabricated.  As the story unraveled, more ethical and scientific violations were revealed.

Hwang submitted duplicative photographic images of cells to Science which he falsely claimed supported his creation of different cell lines in 2005.  He also manipulated the DNA testing of the cell lines to support his desired results.  Allegations abound that Hwang switched samples to cover up the falsification of data and potentially embezzled research funds.

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CDC Data Highlights a Need for Regulation of Infertility Docs

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Jake MeyerLori Andrews
by Jake Meyer and Lori Andrews

The Suleman octuplets have captured Americans’ hearts, but the actions of the mother and doctor have raised people’s ire.  Blogging here last week, Dr. Bruce Patsner pointed out that self-regulation of the infertility industry is insufficient to protect women and children from harm.

Infertility specialist Richard Paulson told Time that we shouldn’t use “this incredibly rare event” to legislate.  But the practice of transferring too many embryos is far from rare and suggests that the billion dollar infertility industry needs stricter oversight.

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Octuplets: Medical Miracle or Medical Mistake?

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Lori Andrews by Lori Andrews

When octuplets were born at Kaiser Permanente Bellflower Medical Center in California, the doctor overseeing the 46 health care professionals in the delivery room called the event "marvelous" and described the mother as "courageous."  But was the event really marvelous?  Or was it a public health nightmare of fertility treatments gone awry?

Between 1980 and 2003, the number of higher-order multiples (triplets or more) increased four-fold.  The prime culprits responsible for this rise in multiples are fertility drugs and in vitro fertilization (IVF).  While other countries regulate the number of embryos that can be transferred to a woman during an in vitro fertilization treatment, the U.S. does not.  As a consequence, one in three in vitro fertilization births involves multiples. 

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