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Welcome to
GENETIC CROSSROADS #14
January 7, 2001
Supporting responsible uses of human genetic technologies
Opposing the new techno-eugenics
(formerly the Techno-Eugenics Email Newsletter)
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For subscription and submission information, see end of message.
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CONTENTS
I. EDITORS' NOTE
II. NEWS AND POINTERS
1. E Magazine Cover Story: "Designing People"
2. French Best-Selling Novel Celebrates a Post-Human Future
3. Disabled Peoples International Statement on Human Genetics
4. Two New Techniques Developed for Producing "Designer
Sperm"
5. Bill Prohibiting Human Cloning Introduced in Texas
6. Flood of Responses to Watson's Genetic Determinism
III. UPCOMING EVENTS
1. "A Decade of ELSI Research," January 16-18,
Bethesda, MD
2. Eduardo Kac on Transgenic Animals as Art, Jan 29, UC Berkeley
3. UC Berkeley Classes on Biotechnology and Bioethics
4. Public Event Features Bill Joy, February 14, San Francisco
5. American Association for Advancement of Science, February
15-20,
San Francisco
IV. ABOUT GENETIC CROSSROADS
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I. EDITORS' NOTE
Those who care about the responsible use of new genetic technologies
know that efforts to set human society on a path toward a techno-eugenic
future continue to gather momentum. Challenges to halt this momentum
are
just beginning to develop. The human project is truly at a critical
crossroads--hence our new name.
We want to encourage readers to share and post GENETIC CROSSROADS
widely,
and to tell us of news and events that are important for others
to know.
Let's help make 2001 the year that human society begins to re-assert
control over the future of the human species.
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II. NEWS AND POINTERS
1. E Magazine Cover Story: "Designing People"
The cover story of E Magazine's January 2001 issue, "Designing
People"
by Sally Deneen, provides the environmental media's first in-depth
coverage of the push for human germline manipulation and the emerging
resistance to it. From the article:
"The idea of redesigning human beings and animals to suit
the primarily
commercial goals of a limited number of individuals is fundamentally
at
odds with the principle of respect for nature." -- Brent
Blackwelder,
president, Friends of the Earth; Robert Musil, executive director,
Physicians for Social Responsibility.
"If people are concerned that there was such a severe
backlash against
genetically modified foods, I think they haven't seen anything
compared
to the backlash when we are able to alter the human genome."
-- Beth
Burrows, director, Edmonds Institute.
"[W]hat we're talking about is a very deep understanding
of what it means
to be part of an intricate web of life, and why we have boundaries
between
species....This is no `marginal' movement or way of thinking.
The group
advocating human re-engineering includes extremely powerful, influential
and wealthy people. So don't expect them to roll over easily or
soon."
-- Ignacio Chapela, professor, Department of Environmental Science,
Policy
and Management, University of California, Berkeley.
The E Magazine website is <www.emagazine.com>.
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2. French Best-Selling Novel Celebrates a Post-Human Future
The new literary-artistic embrace of the techno-eugenic vision
continues
with publication in English of the 1998 French bestseller The
Elementary
Particles by Michel Houellebecq (Knopf, 2000). Houellebecq offers
an
unrelentingly dreary, dispiriting assessment of the possibility
of
meaningful human relationships at the turn of the millenium, but
holds
out the promise that genetic engineering and cloning will allow
creation
of a new post-human species that transcends humanity's tragic
flaws.
From the book (pp 262-264): "There remain some humans
of the old species.
At present their extinction seems inevitable. Contrary to the
doomsayers,
this extinction is taking place peaceably, despite occasional
acts of
violence, which also continue to decline. It has been surprising
to note
the meekness, resignation, perhaps even secret relief with which
humans
have consented to their own passing."
From the reviews:
- "This remarkable best-seller is France's biggest literary
sensation
since Francois Sagan...or since Albert Camus" -- The Economist
- "The great novel of the end of the millenium" -- Elle
(France)
- "Here are ideas, here are dreams, here is a great novel"
-- Le Monde
- "A tragically beautiful book that constitutes a kind of
epitaph for
the hopes of the twentieth century" -- The Sunday Times
(See reviews at <www.amazon.com> and <www.barnesandnoble.com>.)
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3. Disabled Peoples International Statement on Human Genetics
The European contingent of Disabled Peoples International (DPI
Europe)
released a position statement in November on the new human genetics.
DPI is an international human rights organization committed to
the
protection of disabled people's rights.
The statement addresses the threats to people with disabilities
posed
by developments in human genetics, including the increasing use
of
prenatal screening and pre-implantation diagnosis.
"Human genetics poses a threat to us because while cures
and palliatives
are promised, what is actually being offered are genetic tests
for
characteristics perceived as undesirable," the statement
says. "[O]ur
perceived value and role as well as our human rights are continually
diminished by the questionable medical ideas and discriminatory
attitudes spawned by the new genetics....
"We repudiate the utilitarian ideology which informs much
of the new
human genetics, particularly the assumption that society would
be
better off without the inconvenience and expense of disabled people.
In contrast, we want to see all clinical practice based on strong
principles of justice, ethics and non-discrimination with a respect
for diversity, autonomy and fully informed choice."
The DPI statement includes a list of 10 demands about the future
of the
new human genetics. These include strict regulation of human genetic
techniques; non-directive, rights-based genetic counseling; support
for all children and celebration of human diversity; representation
of
disabled peoples on all human genetics advisory and regulatory
bodies;
and protection of disabled people from discrimination and violation
through medical intervention. The full text of the DPI statement
can be
viewed at <http://www.dpieurope.org/htm/bioethics/dpsngfullreport.htm>.
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4. Two New Techniques Developed for Producing "Designer Sperm"
New techniques for genetically manipulating sperm may allow
scientists
to circumvent existing laws prohibiting human germline engineering
and
reproductive cloning, and increase their technical capabilities.
UK newspapers reported in December that British fertility expert
Robert
Winston has obtained a patent on a technique that would allow
researchers
to genetically alter the human male germline cells that develop
into
sperm. Winston developed the technique in collaboration with
researchers
at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and the California
Institute of Technology in Pasadena, and with funds granted by
the US
National Institutes of Health. According to Phillip Koeffler of
Cedars-
Sinai, "This does provide the capability of making designer
babies, and
it will be up to society to decide what to do with it."
A Sunday Times report quotes Dr. David King, editor of GenEthics
News
in London, predicting that the technique could create a social
gulf by
conferring another advantage on the rich. "The commercial
motive will
mean ethical restraints are brushed aside," he said. (Lois
Rogers,
"Winston patents technique for 'designer sperm,'" Sunday
Times,
12/10/00; Mary Vallis, "Gene-fixing technique can erase bad
traits,"
National Post, 12/11/00, <http://www.nationalpost.com/home/
story.html?f=/stories/ 20001211/400643.html>.)
A few weeks later, scientists in Japan announced they had grown
sperm
from stem cells derived from cloned mouse embryos, and then implanted
the sperm back into the testes, where they appear normal. The
researchers
said that the technique, which they plan to test on humans, will
allow
infertile men to produce genetically related offspring. They believe
that they will also be able to produce eggs from "reprogrammed"
cells
derived from cloned male embryos, which would allow children
to be
produced with genes of two men, rather than of a man and a woman.
(Cherry Norton and Lois Rogers, "Clone scientists can grow
sperm in
laboratory," Sunday Times, 12/21/00, <http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/
news/pages/sti/2000/12/31/stifgnfar01003.html>.
With this technique, researchers could genetically manipulate
male germ
stem cells, and then screen the sperm into which they develop
for defects
before using them to fertilize an egg. Even more than Winston's
method,
which involves injecting the sperm precursor cells into testes
for the
final stages of maturation, it could encourage those scientists
who are
eager to push ahead with human germline engineering.
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5. Bill Prohibiting Human Cloning Introduced in Texas
Republican State Senator Jane Nelson has filed a bill that
would prohibit
human cloning in the state of Texas. SB 102 states that "a
person may not
clone or attempt to clone a human being." Penalties for violation
are
fines up to $10,000 and, where applicable, license suspension.
The bill does not explicitly address embryo cloning, but "does
not
restrict scientific research or therapies using cloning technologies
not expressly prohibited by this subchapter." If approved
during the
upcoming session, the bill would take effect September 1, 2001
and
expire in September 2005. The full text can be viewed at
<http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlo/77r/billtext/SB00102I.HTM>.
Nelson chairs the Texas Senate Health Committee, which released
a report
in August 2000 recommending that all human cloning be prohibited
for a
limited time in order to allow for the evaluation of the medical,
ethical,
and social implications raised by the possibility of human cloning.
The
report also discusses gene therapy, GMOs and xenotransplantation
and
provides an overview of genetics-related legislation in other
states.
The full report can be viewed at:
<http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/commit/c620/c620.htm>.
In her statement accompanying the introduction of the bill,
Nelson said,
"The policy questions surrounding the human cloning issue
cut to the very
core of our existence as human beings. Personally, I believe our
lives
are gifts from God, and that trying to copy a human being is unethical."
According to Nelson's staff, reactions to the bill have been positive.
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6. Flood of Responses to Watson's Genetic Determinism
On Dec. 18, the San Francisco Chronicle printed a full page
of letters
about biotech reporter Tom Abate's coverage of the outrage at
James
Watson's assertions, in a lecture at UC Berkeley, that skin color
is
biochemically linked to sexual activity, and thinness to ambition.
In
his Dec. 11 column, Abate had called Watson's remarks "the
crudest form
of genetic determinism." See <www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/
chronicle/archive/2000/12/11/BU133995.DTL>.
The letters were drawn from more than 130 that the paper received
after
copies of Abate's column and comments about it (including a note
from
the editors of this newsletter) circulated via the Internet. Several
of them supported Watson, but most commended Abate for what one
writer
termed "a genuine public service." See <www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/
article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/12/18/BU143282.DTL>.
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III. UPCOMING EVENTS
1. "A Decade of ELSI Research," January 16-18, Bethesda, MD
This conference, sponsored by the National Human Genome Research
Institute
and the Department of Energy, is "organized around a series
of plenary and
concurrent sessions exploring a wide range of ELSI issues."
Many topics
relevant to the new technologies of human genetic manipulation
will be
addressed.
Sessions include a Jan. 17 4:15 pm panel titled "Genetic
Enhancement,"
moderated by LeRoy Walters. Presentations at this session: "Anticipating
Enhancement: Ethical, Legal and Social Issues," Maxwell Mehlman;
"The
Social and Ethical Dimensions of Genetic Enhancement Technologies,"
David
Rothman and Sheila Rothman; "Ethical and Social Issues in
Human Germline
Modification: A Retrospective View From 1990-2000," David
Resnick; "The
Conceptual Challenges of Regulating Genetic Enhancement,"
Eric Juengst.
For more information, including an agenda and abstracts of
presentations,
see <www.tech-res.intl.com/ELSI/index.asp>.
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2. Eduardo Kac on Transgenic Animals as Art, UC Berkeley, Jan 29
Eduardo Kac will give a lecture titled "From Telepresence
to Transgenic
Art" on January 29, 7:30 pm, at 160 Kroeber Hall, UC Berkeley.
Kac is
a Chicago Art Institute professor who persuaded French geneticists
to
produce a rabbit that glows in the dark by injecting rabbit zygotes
with
a fluorescent protein gene derived from jellyfish. Kac says he
intended
the fluorescing rabbit to start a public dialogue on biotechnology.
Kac's plan to create transgenic animals has generated controversy
since
he first announced it at an Ars Electronica gathering in 1999.
"It's one
thing for an artist to experiment on a canvas, but it's entirely
different to experiment on a living creature," said Ellen
Ullman, author
of "Close to the Machine." Ullman pointed out that the
harm isn't limited
to the modified creature. "What does it do to a society to
casually create
fluorescent dogs?" she asked. (See Tom Abate, "Artist
Proposes Using
Jellyfish Genes to Create Glow-in-the-Dark Dogs," SF Chronicle,
10/18/99.)
Info on the lecture: <http://www.ieor.berkeley.edu/~goldberg/lecs/>,
or
contact Ken Goldberg, <goldberg@ieor.berkeley.edu> or 510-643-9670.
See also Kac's website: <http://www.ekac.org/chitrib.html>.
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3. UC Berkeley Classes on Biotechnology and Bioethics
Visiting Professor Charles Weiner of the Massachusetts Institute
of
Technology will teach two classes this spring that address genetic
engineering. "Bioethics" will meet Monday and Wednesday
from 4:00-5:30
in 141 Giannini Hall. Topics include ethical dilemmas arising
from
recent advances in biotechnology, genetic engineering, healthcare,
patient's rights, and environmental cleanups.
"Biotechnology and Society" will meet Tuesday, 6-9
pm in 139 Mulford
Hall. Topics include the recombinant DNA controversy, development
of
the biotechnology industry, agricultural use of genetically engineered
organisms, university-industry links, patenting, conflicts of
interest,
the human genome project, ethical problems in human gene therapy,
and
the social responsibility of the scientist.
Both courses are open to the public. Info: Department of Environmental
Science Policy and Management, 510-643-0177.
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4. Public Event Features Bill Joy, February 14, San Francisco
Bill Joy, chief scientist of Sun Microsystems and author of
the widely
cited 2000 article "Why the Future Doesn't Need Us,"
(Wired magazine)
will give a keynote address at a public event titled "Genomics
Robotics,
and Nanotechnology: Science and Religion Converse on the Shape
of the
Future." Responses from scientists, ethicists, and theologians
follow.
The free event takes place at 7:00 pm, Grace Cathedral, 1051
Taylor St.,
San Francisco. Sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement
of Science; the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences;
the
Episcopal Church Working Group on Science, Technology and Faith;
and
Grace Cathedral. See <www.ctns.org/News/Bill_Joy/bill_joy.html>.
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5. American Association for the Advancement of Science, February
15-20,
San Francisco
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
will hold
its annual meeting from Thursday Feb. 15 through Tuesday Feb.
20 at the
San Francisco Hilton Hotel. Seminars and talks of interest include:
- Shaping the Genetic Future of Man: A Framework for Policy
Makers
Sunday, Feb. 18, 3:00 - 6:00 pm.
- Patenting Genes and Business Methods: Is It Time for Congress
to Cut
Back Patent Protection? Monday, Feb. 19, 3:00 - 6:00 pm.
- Ethical and Policy Implications of Synthesizing "Minimal
Genomes"
Tuesday, Feb. 20, 8:00 - 11:00 am.
Other workshops address post-genomics, regulating human aging,
biotech
public relations, food/agro GE, science journalism, nanotechnology,
and
more. Speakers including W. French Anderson, Lori Andrews, Sheila
Jasonoff, and Bill Joy.
For full schedule and registration info: <http://www.aaas.org/meetings>
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IV. ABOUT GENETIC CROSSROADS (formerly Techno-Eugenics Email Newsletter)
This newsletter originated in 1999 out of the concerns of academics,
activists, and others in the San Francisco Bay Area about the
direction
of the new human genetic and reproductive technologies. It is
published
by the Exploratory Initiative on the New Human Genetic Technologies,
a
public interest organization working to alert the public and leaders
of
civil society about the urgent need for societal oversight of
these
technologies and the dangers of the techno-eugenic vision.
We support genetic and reproductive technologies that serve
the public
interest. We oppose those--especially human germline engineering
and
human reproductive cloning--that would be likely to exacerbate
inequality,
the commercialization of reproduction, and the commodification
of human
genes and tissues.
GENETIC CROSSROADS is published approximately once a month.
Feedback,
submissions, and suggestions are welcome. Marcy Darnovsky will
moderate.
Please forward GENETIC CROSSROADS to others who may be interested.
Marcy Darnovsky, Ph.D. <teel@adax.com>
Richard Hayes, M.A. <rhayes@publicmediacenter.org>
Tania Simoncelli, M.S. <tania@publicmediacenter.org>
To subscribe, unsubscribe, and for all other communications:
<teel@adax.com>