Taiwan: Not So Fast, Abortionist

THE TAIPEI TIMES, Dec. 23—A proposed bill would require Taiwanese women considering abortion to first undergo two hours of counseling with a psychologist and a six-day cooling off period.

The bill's sponsor, legislator Chiang Chi-weng, told the Taipei Times that her proposal is designed to balance the rights of women with those of unborn children. Pointing out that women can speak out for themselves, Chiang asked: Who will stand up for unborn children?

No to Donor Babies in Britain

BBC NEWS, Dec. 20—The British High Court has ruled that the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority, which regulates fertility clinics in Britain, has no right under current legislation to license embryos conceived via in vitro fertilization to create a “donor baby.”

According to the British Broadcasting Corp., the court ruled that the Hashmi family cannot screen its IVF embryos to find a baby who could help treat their son Zain. Zain Hashmi has beta-thalassemia, a dangerous blood disorder that might be cured by a cell transplant using tissue from the umbilical cord of a baby who is an exact tissue match for him.

Josephine Quintavalle of Comment on Reproductive Ethics, who brought the High Court challenge, says the screening of test-tube embryos to provide “donor siblings” for sick children was “ethically objectionable.”

Above-Board Vaccine Approved

ASSOCIATED PRESS, Dec. 17—A new vaccine called Pediarix, which protects against five different diseases—diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B and polio—has won federal approval. The pro-life group Children of God for Life says the new vaccine does not contain any aborted fetal-cell lines, reported the news service.

Pediarix requires only three shots staggered through the first six months of life versus the nine most babies receive to have the same amount of protection from those diseases.

From Bone Marrow to Brain Cells

REUTERS, Dec. 20—Stem cells from a person's own bone marrow can be used to generate brain cells that may be a way to treat diseases like brain cancer or Alzheimer's, researchers say.

The lead author of the new research, Dr. John Yu of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, says using stem cells from bone marrow solves the ethical dilemma of using embryonic and fetal stem cells in medical research as well as potential problems with tissue rejection.

According to Reuters, the researchers were able for the first time to generate neural progenitor cells from adult bone marrow.