Thank You for Making 2020 our Best Year Yet
Dear NCER Supporter,
The year 2020 has been quite the rollercoaster ride, and we hope you and your families have withstood the barrage of challenges it has brought. We reported the following medical ethics developments to you over the last year:
- The rogue Chinese medical researcher, He Jiankui, was sentenced to prison for unethically creating the world’s first gene-edited children.
- Women who donated their eggs for in vitro fertilization or gene editing research faced detrimental
“Clarifying Fetal Tissue Policy Contradictions”
NCER Comments:
Update: Here’s what is known about Trump’s COVID-19 treatment
NCER Comments:
Remdesivir is an antiviral drug developed and produced using ethical means. However, results have been weak in preventing both hospitalizations and death. Additionally, itʼs cost is exorbitant at $1,000 per treatment.
What about the highly anticipated therapy known as Remdesivir? Is it an ethical and effective option in beating COVID-19? An excerpt from a recently published article follows.
By Jon Cohen
…
Oct
Antibody treatment Trump touts relied on testing with cells derived from fetal tissue
NCER Comments:
Both ongoing studies and limited clinical use show promising results for REGN-CoV2 therapy. No aborted fetal tissue was used in the creation of Regeneronʼs COVID-19 and no fetal tissue is contained in the therapy. Two sources of antibodies were used: human and mice. The company has filed for “expanded access” from the FDA, and an Executive Order will allow use of the therapeutic without cost to the patient. However, aborted fetal cells were …
Update from 09/21/20 on COVID-19 Vaccines and Treatment in Development
NCER wants to keep you up to date on the ethical options in development for COVID-19 and seasonal flu vaccinations as well as all immunizations. This year, for the first time, all seasonal flu vaccines are made from ethical substrates, and not from aborted human fetal tissue. COVID-19 treatments are being developed from a myriad of substrates, ethical and unethical. We’ve provided a full list through the following two links to the Children of God© …
In It’s First Tough Test, CRISPR Base Editing Slashes Cholesterol Levels in Monkeys
NCER Comments:
The vast majority of adults are taking a daily Statin to manage their “bad” LDL and Triglyceride Cholesterol count, and many experience muscle pain as well as other adverse side effects. Using CRISPR gene editing, two companies, Verve and Beam Therapeutics, are intensely working on an ethical solution to high cholesterol which causes cardiovascular disease. Read the following to see the results.
As seen in
JUNE 27, 2020
A …
Diabetes Reversed in Mice with Genetically Edited Stem Cells Derived from Patients
NCER Comments:
Diabetes Mellitus (DM) affects more than 100 million adults in the US; that’s just under 10% of the population. Diabetes is associated with a 2x increase of death due to cardiovascular disease; and on average, patients with diabetes lose 6 years of their lifespan compared to those who do not. Additionally, DM is the leading cause of kidney failure, retinopathy and neuropathic pain. Can CRISPR-cas 9 be utilized to ethically cure …
NIH approves 70 new human embryonic stem cell lines for use in federally funded research
NCER Comments:
New human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines created in an Israeli medical center have just been approved by the acting NIH director, Francis Collins for use in federally funded research in the Unites States. While federal funding for the creation of new embryonic cell lines is banned, private funding is still legal, and use of these 70 new stem cell lines in research is not prohibited.
NCER does not support research in, and …
Scientists Edited Human Embryos in the Lab, and It Was a Disaster
NCER Comments:
The Francis Crick Institute used the tool CRISPR to edit genes in human embryos, leading to disastrous results. Over 50% of the edited embryos had countless unintended edits to their genomes which would lead to birth defects and disease, precisely what this research is attempting to prevent. This is not news, as these uncontrollable “mosaic” results have been seen in previous studies. Human DNA is extremely complicated, and the CRISPR tool is a …
The Appalling Price of Unborn Babies’ Body Parts
NCER Comments:
Between 2012 and 2018, the FDA paid just under $100,000 for “fresh and never frozen” aborted fetal tissue from Planned Parenthood to be used in research. Currently, federal law still allows for the sale (without profit) of aborted fetal parts. The term “fresh” refers to the fact that when possible, aborted fetuses are dissected while still alive to obtain their organs and tissue. This tissue was then used by the FDA to create …