Fetal Research Board Proposed
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WASHINGTON — Calling the government “bankrupt in dealing with ethical issues,” two medical societies announced plans Monday to establish a private board to review research that uses the tissues of aborted fetuses.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Fertility Society said a board of 15 citizens would set guidelines for research in transplanting of fetal tissue and for studies involving test-tube embryos. A fertility society official said the board would be selected from the legal, religious and scientific communities and from the general public.
“If the federal government won’t do it, then the private sector must,” said Dr. Kenneth Ryan, a Harvard Medical Center physician representing the obstetricians group.
The National Right to Life Committee objected. “We don’t have a need for an elite clique deciding when human beings can be treated like laboratory animals,” said Douglas Johnson, its legislative director.
Some scientists believe that transplanting fetal cells holds promise in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes.
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