Should Certain Research Should Restricted?

[Guest guest]

Should Certain Research Should Restricted?

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=36028

Arizona State University's College Law Center for the Study of Law,

Science & Technology will host the Forbidding Science? Balancing

Freedom, Security, Innovation and Precaution conference, Thursday and

Friday, January 12 and 13, 2006. The conference will be held in the

College of Law's Great Hall, located at the corner of Orange Street

and McAllister Avenue, Tempe, Ariz.

The first of its kind in decades, the Forbidding Science conference

will explore whether some scientific research should be restricted

and if so, how far should these restrictions go. Conference scholars

will address the growing consensus that certain research should not

be done for the good of humanity. But, there is no consensus among

scientists, policymakers, ethicists, national security experts and

lawyers about which research should be restricted, who should make

the decision, and how these decisions should be made. There also is

the question of whether it is illegal to ban research under the First

Amendment. This issue has never been litigated in the U.S.

" This timely conference is controversial and groundbreaking, " said

Marchant, executive director of the Center for the Study of Law,

Science & Technology at ASU. " We have reached a point in human

history where some of the scientific research we could do, perhaps,

we should not do for safety, national security or ethical reasons.

" In particular, the conference will examine questions raised by

pathogen and toxin, nanotechnology and cognitive enhancement

research, " added Marchant, who also is an ASU College of Law

professor. " We must choose, for the first time, which science should

be allowed and which should not. Scientists now are actively engaged

in discussions about self-regulation and codes of conduct. "

Marchant points out research areas that either have been restricted

or may be restricted in the future. Some states have already banned

embryonic stem cell research. Universities are concerned with viral

and pathogen experiments and their risk to humans if fallen into the

wrong hands. The National Institutes of Health has established a

separate board to give advice and guidance to the federal government

regarding biological research that has the potential for misuse to

pose a biologic threat to public health or national security (i.e.,

dual use research).

More than 20 distinguished scholars from across the U.S. and England

will participate in group discussions covering topics such as Framing

Forbidding Science, Is There a Right to Conduct Research and

Prospects for Governing Research. Among the distinguished conference

scholars include Crow, president of Arizona State University;

Leon Kass, Harding Professor, Committee on Social Thought at

the University of Chicago; and Redish, Louis & Harriet Ancel

Professor of Law and Public Policy at Northwestern University School

of Law. Poste, director of ASU's Biodesign Institute, will be

the keynote speaker Thursday evening (Jan. 12).

Along with ASU College of Law and the ASU Office of the Vice

President for Research and Economic Affairs, Forbidding Science

conference co-sponsors include, the Biodesign Institute; Consortium

for Science, Policy & Outcomes; the Center for Biology and Society;

Arizona Consortium for Medicine, Society and Values; American

Association for the Advancement of Science; Lincoln Center for

Applied Ethics; and American Bar Association Section of Science and

Technology Law.

The conference is open to the public and welcomes all ASU faculty,

staff and students. There is no conference fee except for attorneys

seeking continuing legal education credits. Advance registration is

requested. To register, please go to the conference link at

law.asu.edu/forbiddingscience.