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 …
COVID-19 Vaccine Update
NCER Comments:
Several COVID-19 vaccines are currently in development and being tested on a small number of humans. Janssen Pharmaceutical (Johnson & Johnson), Moderna and the University of Pittsburgh have chosen to use fetal cell lines obtained from abortions to create their vaccines, while Sanofi-Pasteur and Inovio are utilizing ethical sources such as insects and donated blood as their vaccine substrate. Using cells from aborted fetuses is unethical because it denies the value of human …
UN official Criticizes ‘Liberal Eugenics’ based on Disabilities
NCER Comments:
A UN official is drawing attention to the dangers of prenatal testing, selective abortion and IVF pre-implantation genetic screening because these procedures are precursors to euthanizing fetuses and newborns with disabilities. This practice vigorously promotes social discrimination of the disabled and consumer-driven eugenics. Every human being, no matter the imperfections, deserves respect and dignity at each developmental stage.
Sunday, April 26, 2020
by Michael Cook | 18 Apr 2020
A United Nations official …
Ethical Issues Surrounding Egg Donation in Genome Editing Research
NCER Comments
Are women who receive payment to donate their eggs able to fully understand the health risks (possibly cancer or death) entailed so as to give informed consent? Additionally, does this practice violate the ethical principle of Justice by taking advantage of vulnerable poor women? NCER believes this policy is unethical because it debases women and treats their eggs/DNA as commodities.
by Patrick Foong | 11 Jan 2020
Like any novel technology, there are …
For a Change of Heart, Would-be Egg Donors Face Threats and Bills
NCER Comments
There is very little legal oversight in the marketplace of selling human eggs, and women who initially agree to donate but then change their minds are often harassed and threatened by fertility clinics. Julie Johnson was one such case, and she changed her mind about donating her eggs when she realized the clinic was not concerned for her well-being, but only interested in exploiting her. Read her story below, along with other women …
HIV Eliminated from the Genomes of Living Animals
NCER Notes:
With more than 36 M HIV infected people worldwide, and over 1 M living in the U.S., a cure for the disease is fervently sought. Researchers at our own UNMC in Omaha, Ne. believe they have found that cure! Mice were injected with human stem cells from cord blood in order to create a more human-like immune system. These mice were then infected with the HIV virus, and eventually treated with a long …
CRISPR Babies: When Will the World Be Ready?
NCER Notes:
As an alarming example of how the gene editing of embryos can be dangerous, the first gene edited babies born in China last year now have a high probability of a significantly shorter lifespan due to unexpected consequences of the editing. Because of this outcome, the World Health Organization has asked all countries to stop any further research leading to gene edited babies. In spite of these warnings, a Russian biologist plans to …
Study Will Test CRISPR Gene Editing Inside the Body for the First Time
Notes from NCER:
In hopes of receiving sight, adults and children with an inherited form of blindness will have their genes edited in the first ever treatment that will alter patients’ native DNA using CRISPR. The specific condition, Leber congenital amaurosis, is rare (3 out of 100,000), and occurs when a child inherits two flawed genes, one from each parent. This is a stellar example of the ethical use of gene editing in humans in …
The Immaculate Conception?
NCER Notes
With a discovery straight out of science fiction, researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have taken us one step closer to human reproduction without the need for eggs and sperm. How is this possible? They have discovered the genes necessary to transform human skin cells into an embryo, it’s placenta and umbilical cord. The stated purpose of this breakthrough is to easily and quickly create vast quantities of test tube embryos for …
Omaha World Herald Op-Ed Feature
NCER had the opportunity to comment in the Midlands section of the OWH concerning the ethics of IVF which was used in a complex and unusual birth last month at UNMC.
Midlands Voices: Complex births raise profound bioethical challenges
The Omaha World-Herald recently featured the birth of a precious baby girl, Uma. This birth was the result of a unique, complex effort by family members, each of whom was …