The American Journal of Bioethics (Volume 8, Issue 4 2008) is now available by subscription only.

Articles include:
“Stem Cells and Genetic Testing: The Gap Between Science and Society Widens” by Ricki Lewis, 1-3
“Does Ethics Education Influence the Moral Action of Practicing Nurses and Social Workers?” by Christine Grady; Marion Danis; Karen L. Soeken; Patricia O’Donnell; Carol Taylor; Adrienne Farrar; Connie M. Ulrich, 4-11
“The Challenge of Research on Ethics Education” by Jennifer C. Kesselheim; Steven Joffe, 12-13
“Comforting Presence: The Role of Nurses and Social Workers in Clinical Ethics” by A. Jotkowitz; B. Gesundheit, 14 - 15
“Seeking Proof Where the Subject is Ill-Defined and the Outcomes Limited” by Karolyn Leslea White; Michael Carey; Ian Kerridge, 15-17
“Mixed Methods and Bioethics Pedagogy: Suggestions for Future Research” by Paul Brodwin, 17-19
“An Urgent Call for Ethics Education” by Lucia D. Wocial, 21-23
“A Plea for Pragmatism in Clinical Research Ethics” by David H. Brendel; Franklin G. Miller, 24-31
“Pragmatism, Principles, and Protection” by D. Micah Hester; Joseph Brown; Toby Schonfeld, 32-34
“Pragmatism and Virtue Ethics in Clinical Research” by Daniel Goldberg, 43-45
“Ethics and Rural Healthcare: What Really Happens? What Might Help?” by Ann Freeman Cook; Helena Hoas, 52-56
“Review of Christopher Meyers. A Practical Guide to Clinical Ethics Consulting: Expertise, Ethos and Power.” by Armand H. Matheny Antommaria, 72-73

Assemblypersons Patti Berg and Lloyd Levine’s attempt to institute backdoor assisted suicide via “palliative sedation” just hit a big bump in the road: To get it out of a California Senate committee–they had to consent to their pet bill being gutted. From the California Catholic Conference press release:

The amendments in the revised bill included:
- Expansion and clarification of the definition of “healthcare provider”
- Removal of the definition of palliative sedation
- Removal of the definition of Voluntary Stopping of Eating and Drinking (VSED)
- Removal of the “one year or less to live” trigger for discussion of end-of-life “care” options
- Removal of palliative sedation and VSED [self starvation/dehydration]from the menu of end-of-life “care” options
- Recasting of the section requiring the transfer of a patient requesting a treatment his/her healthcare provider declined to offer—to allowing a transfer only when the healthcare provider did not comply with the patient’s request for information on end-of-life care options

This is a great win and congratulations are owed to the disability rights movement, the Northern California Oncologists Association, the California Catholic Conference, and all associated with Californians Against Assisted Suicide, among others.

However: If it passes the Senate the bill goes into a committee to have the original version that passed the Assembly and this innocuous version reconciled. Look for the bad guys to attempt a smoke-filled–room by reinstating most of the original bill behind closed doors.

The promoters of embryonic stem cell enterprises continue to tout soon to come “breakthroughs” accompanied by supine media coverage and inaccurate statements by “the scientists” who twist and distort scientific definitions to win a political debate. Such spin in the name of science, actually corrupts science.

Latest example: Another company is claiming that “next year” it will start human ESC trials. From a column by Orange County Register “biomedical innovation” columnist Colin Stewart, who has apparently drunk the Kool-Aid. First there is his cruelly hyped headline: “ALS patients could get help from stem cells next year:” From his column:

A tiny start-up company in Irvine has a shot at becoming the first to gain federal approval to test an embryonic stem cell treatment in humans. Two degenerative nerve diseases are the first targets for California Stem Cell Inc.’s therapies. They are ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease, which kills adults, and SMA, a fatal disease affecting newborns. The company hopes to win Food and Drug Administration approval to begin clinical trials next year for both sets of patients.

Geron has been making the same “next year, human trials” claim for years. Yet, the FDA does not appear close to approving human trials.

And here comes the usual junk biology:

Those stem cells originated from newly fertilized eggs that were discarded by a fertility clinic after the egg donors no longer needed or wanted them, said Chris N. Airriess, the company’s chief operating officer.

Sigh. They aren’t fertilized eggs, they are embryos, and the “egg donors” may not even be the embryo donors since they–embryos–are donated by those who paid to have them created, not the woman whose eggs may have been used.

Of course, the real point of this story is to garner investments. Which is why it was touted by a business columnist. And only time will tell whether the touted trials will actually begin. But after all the years of such “next year” announcements, count me as dubious.

Oh yes, it is worth noting that early human trials have already begun using adult stem cells to treat ALS.

Government support, strong leadership within institutions and the protection of ‘genomic sovereignty’ are vital to the burgeoning genomic medicine sector in developing countries, say researchers. (SciDev)

Assemblyman Neil M. Cohen announced today he has introduced legislation to create the “New Jersey Stem Cell Research Assistance Program” to help stimulate the state’s fledgling stem cell research program by encouraging venture capitalists to invest in research funding. (Politicker NJ)

The New York City health department plans to announce on Thursday an ambitious three-year effort to give an H.I.V. test to every adult living in the Bronx, which has a far higher death rate from AIDS than any other borough. (New York Times)

Many students plan on careers in fields such as medicine or pharmacy, often after they’ve experienced genetic manipulation in the high school lab. A typical experiment at Tucson High Magnet School, for example, involves inserting particular genes into bacteria and checking for expression. (redOrbit)

The state of California is clamping down on companies that offer direct-to-consumer genetic testing in a move that threatens the burgeoning industry. Meredith Wadman looks at a grey area in US regulation.Nature News

What’s not so clear to the American Medical Association is what kind of incentives — and in what amounts — might encourage potential organ donors and their family members to follow through. (MSNBC)

Doctors have long recruited patients to help advertise — witness the doctor-patient tag teams on talk shows and infomercials. It has remained an open question as to whether doctors pay or remunerate those smiling patients in violation of the rules of many physician associations. But it’s now clear that doctors openly offer “thank you” rebates and discounts to patients who post videos of their breast augmentations, bright white teeth or nose jobs — or are willing to be taped extolling the virtues of their physician. (New York Times)

In hospitals, medical-ethics teams are increasingly the arbiters of agonizing health decisions: helping parents and doctors plan care for a dying child, mediating among family members who disagree about removing a parent from life support, or steering patients in denial about a terminal illness toward end-of-life care. (Wall Street Journal)

A Stanford Medical School psychiatrist has vastly underreported his investment in a drug company whose fortunes could be affected by the university’s studies, contends Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee. (San Jose Mercury)