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NORMS AND NARRATIVES: RELIGIOUS REFLECTIONS ON THE HUMAN CLONING CONTROVERSY Courtney S. Campbell and Joan Woolfrey

  Abstract: We undertook a study of major religious perspectives and denominational attitudes to human cloning at the request of the National Bioethics Advisory Commission. This project revealed the presence of religious pluralism in a pluralistic society: distinctive narratives, norms, and modes of reasoning influence the questions and the conclusions religious traditions and communities draw on the issues of human cloning. Such narratives and norms are significant because they invite dialogue on human cloning—and other issues at the intersection of religion, ethics, and biotechnology—with a moral culture that is richer and more substantive than the perspectives of autonomy, risk benefit, or commerce—discourse to which policy-makers and researchers are attuned. Religious communities invite science and politics to locate their interests within a broader quest for purpose and meaning about human nature and destiny. Our research, we hope, will help to create the space for dialogue, enrich the study of the presuppositions of both religion and science, and diminish the tendency toward isolation between scientific communities and peoples of diverse faith traditions. Acknowledging the legitimacy of religious traditions to have a voice in public forums on issues that touch the fundaments of human life is vital to vibrant democratic discourse. Concomitantly, scientific research and biomedical technologies require religious communities to examine and reinterpret many of their formative stories and ethical principles. The prospect of such collaborative reflection, we believe, will enrich the farthest reaches of science and politics, contribute to societal understanding of the views of others, and constructively present diversity in ways of thinking about who we are and what we aspire to become.

©1998 by The Journal of BioLaw & Business. All Rights Reserved.

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Abstract: The nexus between biodiversity in protected areas and research and development in the marine biotechnology industry is a relationship that has received little attention. This article examines the potential of various bioprospecting arrangements between the marine biotechnology industry and United States marine protected areas (MPAs) to promote the development and conservation of marine biological resources.

©1998 by The Journal of BioLaw & Business. All Rights Reserved.

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Abstract: : Decades of research in agricultural biotechnology (ag-biotech) have led to astounding changes in the agricultural sciences. Biotechnology is improving various crops (for example, corn, soybeans, cotton, canola, and potatoes) and enhancing taste, processing, and nutritional value. New methods of controlling insects, weeds, and crop diseases through the use of biotechnology are in the process of exploration. Recent research efforts focus on productivity and the ability of certain crops to withstand the challenges of nature. With the aim of increasing productivity in challenged environments, scientific investigation into the genetic manipulation of traits to produce heat, cold, and drought tolerance is underway. Developments in ag-biotech are resulting in a number of perceived agricultural and environmental benefits, including the ability of plants to withstand low temperatures and frosts; herbicide-tolerant crops; reduced pesticide use; selective application of chemicals; and reduced exposure of farmers, workers, and groundwater to the hazards of chemical pesticides.

A major goal for the next century is to improve the efficiency of food production and increase crop yields in order to help ensure the availability of food for the world’s growing population. Global efforts are under way to develop agricultural research and sustainable agricultural practices. Governments, industry, and academic research institutions are collaborating on new ways to solve agricultural problems and develop sustainability. In June 1997 the National Agricultural Biotechnology Council (NABC) dedicated its ninth annual meeting, Resource Management in Challenged Environments (NABC 9), to addressing some of the pressing issues facing agricultural biotechnology today. Representatives from research, industry, organic farming, consumer organizations, and environmental agencies candidly shared their insights through a series of workshop discussions. This special feature of The Journal of BioLaw and Business contains highlights from the NABC 9 workshops. It is designed to provide insight into the issues and recommendations necessary to consider as ag-biotech research and new products develop and enter the marketplace.

Overview of the National Agricultural Biotechnology Council
Jane Baker Segelken and Ralph W.F. Hardy

Biodiversity Conservation for Sustainable Agroecosystems
Marie Boehm and R. E. Morgan

Regulatory and Economic Aspects of Accessing International Markets
David Howle and Brian Sim

Biotechnology and Social Issues in Rural Agricultural Communities
Larry Gutek and Brewster Kneen

©1998 by The Journal of BioLaw & Business. All Rights Reserved.

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Abstract: For the past 20 years, in both academic institutions and commercial firms, the growth of the bioscience industry represents one of California’s financial success stories. As this and other reports demonstrate, this new industry has in a few short years become a significant driver of the state’s economy. Bioscience is big business in this state,1 where over 1,200 companies and 160,000 employees are involved in product development, ranging from biopharmaceuticals and diagnostics to medical devices and contract research. California’s San Mateo County is at the geographic center of this growth and has the distinction of being the birthplace of the industry. In 1976 the founders of Genentech, Inc. chose to rent space and begin operations in the county, and today more than 100 bioscience companies are located there, providing high wages and steady employment and maintaining environmentally clean operations. Capitalizing on this success in the future, however, will not be easy. Other states and foreign countries are continuing to offer these companies a variety of fiscal and public policy incentives to relocate, including promises on taxes and zoning and other regulations. Sensing this increasing competition, the San Mateo County Economic Development Agency (SAMCEDA) in early 1996 retained the Bay Area Bioscience Center (BABC) in Oakland to coordinate a first-ever look at the county’s maturing bioscience industry. The assignment was to catalog the full economic value and impact of the sector, both near and long term, and to propose public policy recommendations to retain and enlarge the size and scope of the local industry. The three major components of the effort included the creation of a business environment survey and interviews with industry CEOs in San Mateo County; a pre-publication business roundtable with key public stakeholders; and a full report, including strategic recommendations for future interactions between the companies and local and state governments. This examination of the fiscal and quality-of-life impact that the bioscience industry creates within this geographic cluster of companies has generated substantial interest by public officials, investors, and the business media in the Bay Area. This public policy blueprint for action is assisting the county and state in creating support mechanisms to assure future bioscience growth in San Mateo County and the Bay Area.

©1998 by The Journal of BioLaw & Business. All Rights Reserved.

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Abstract: : Within the next ten years it is likely that medical science will advance to a stage in which it will be possible to clone human beings. News from Scotland that an adult sheep was successfully cloned after 277 unsuccessful tries has moved the possibility of human cloning to the forefront of intense public debate. In fact, the announcement has given rise to a tidal wave of ethical commentary1 ranging from the pronouncement of the National Bioethics Advisory Commission (NBAC) to enact a law to ban cloning for five years to congressional hearings to sermons to talk shows to cartoonists all questioning and encouraging a ban on the procedure.

©1998 by The Journal of BioLaw & Business. All Rights Reserved.

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Abstract: : The recently reported cloning of a lamb from the cell of an existing sheep has raised the possibility that humans could one day be cloned. The legal system has little experience with the novel issues introduced by the prospect of human cloning. While there is a wide range of opinion on the moral and ethical implications of applying the technology to the production of humans, including calls for a permanent ban, some rationales have been presented for implementing human cloning. On the basis of previous experience with reproductive technologies, commercial opportunities in this area will likely follow. The President’s National Bioethics Advisory Commission (NBAC) reached a consensus on the technical uncertainties of the procedure, and on that basis has recommended a moratorium of three to five years on all attempts in the public or private sectors to produce a human by cloning. Legislation currently pending before the U.S. Congress carries modest civil penalties for attempting to clone a human, whereas the Council of Europe has adopted strong language banning such an act. The purpose of this article is to summarize the scientific issues involved in cloning an organism and to briefly outline the current situation in the United States and Western Europe with regard to the legalities of human cloning. In addition, this article explores some basic sociolegal implications of the prospect of human cloning, including constitutional questions of citizenship and civil rights and questions concerning property and succession, as well as personal injury.

©1998 by The Journal of BioLaw & Business. All Rights Reserved.

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Abstract: : Genetic engineering is increasingly being used in the production of food products—from seeds sold to farmers to milk purchased at the corner grocery store. Staple foods, such as corn, maize, cotton, soybeans, potatoes, and tomatoes, that have been altered at the genetic or molecular level are now available in the marketplace. In few instances, however, are consumers aware that these foods have been genetically modified. Furthermore, it is not possible to distinguish between products that are altered and those that are not because this information does not appear on most labels and packaging. This column considers labeling issues that arise with respect to genetically engineered food products.

©1998 by The Journal of BioLaw & Business. All Rights Reserved.

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Abstract: : The National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering brings together leaders from academe, industry, government, and other sectors to address critical national policy issues and to provide cogent, unbiased advice to the U.S. government and its citizens. This article provides readers of BioLaw with a summary of recent and ongoing studies taking place at the national level.

©1998 by The Journal of BioLaw & Business. All Rights Reserved.

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