Remember those quaint old days when biotechnologists told us that “all” they wanted to effectuate embryonic stem cell research (ESCR) was merely access to leftover in vitro fertilization (IVF) embryos “that were going to be tossed out anyway?”
Actually, I misspeak. Those days might have been quaint but they definitely aren't old. Human embryonic stem cells were only derived in 1998; the great ESCR debate has been with us for fewer than ten years.
No Brakes on the Runaway Embryonic Stem Cell Research Train
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Desperately ill patients will be at risk of being killed off by friends or relatives under "living will" laws, officials admitted yesterday. The system that allows a third party to withdraw the medical treatment that is keeping a patient alive is open to abuse and fraud, they said.
The prospect of patients being killed on the orders of relatives who stand to benefit from their wills has reignited debate on the Mental Capacity Act, which comes into force on Monday.
'Living will law' could put frail lives at risk, warn doctors
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