Call for the "Needed Balance" on Stem Cell Research Oversight Committee

Two public interest groups this week submitted an open letter to the leadership of the National Academies, calling for greater balance in viewpoints and expertise on a new committee that will monitor human embryonic stem cell research and recommend voluntary guidelines to researchers.

The letter from CGS and the CSPI stated, "The proposed members of the committee bring a wealth of experience in the biological sciences and health law. However… we believe that a number of critical perspectives and backgrounds are inadequately represented."

The letter expressed three key concerns:

• a lack of public health or health law experts, bioethicists, or policy experts who have expressed the need for caution and effective public oversight of stem cell research, including formal structures of federal regulation
• a lack of experts with a professional background in the provision of women's health
• a lack of experts who bring demonstrated research experience and concern for access to health care for ethnic minorities and the economically vulnerable

The National Academies Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Advisory Committee was established this month to regularly update the recommended nonbinding guidelines issued by a similar committee of the National Academies last year. The National Academies are a set of independent nonprofit organizations that advise the federal government on key matters of science, technology, and medicine.

The letter is available online at http://www.genetics-and-society.org/resources/cgs/20060522_naletter_cgscspi.html

The Center for Genetics and Society is a nonprofit information and public affairs organization working to encourage responsible uses and effective societal governance of the new human genetic and reproductive technologies. The Integrity in Science Project at the Center for Science in the Public Interest is a consumer advocacy organization that encourages policy-makers at all levels of government to seek balance on expert advisory committees.

Contact:
Parita Shah
510-625-0819 x312

Marcy Darnovsky
510-625-0819 x305