International policy failures: cloning and stem-cell research.

In late 2003, two international bodies were unable to resolve disagreements that involved bioethical issues. First, the United Nations General Assembly failed to pass a treaty on reproductive cloning because of insistence by some countries that the treaty include a ban on cloning for research. In view of the importance of enacting prohibition of reproductive cloning, the two issues should be separated and each argued on its own merits.

Central ethical dilemmas in research involving children.

We are obligated to protect individual child subjects of research, yet it is also necessary to investigate the safety and efficacy of medical treatments that benefit children as a class. The federal regulations on research with children have provided ethical guidance since 1983, but divergent interpretations persist. Since varying interpretations can lead to confusion and abuses, efforts are underway to clarify the criteria.

Overseeing research on therapeutic cloning: a private ethics board responds to its critics.

Advanced Cell Technology's Ethics Advisory Board has been called window dressing for a corporate marketing plan. But the scientists and managers have paid attention, and the lawyers have gone along.

Human growth hormone: a case study in treatment priorities.

One of the most commonly cited examples of enhancement genetic engineering is insertion of the growth hormone (GH) gene into a medically normal child. At this time, insertion of the gene itself is not planned. However, the modification of height, which is possible through administration of biochemical GH, raises the same questions about therapeutic versus enhancement uses of genetics.