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Health Law and Policy Commons

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Notre Dame Law School

Biotechnology

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Full-Text Articles in Health Law and Policy

The Code Of Life And Death, Braden R. Leach Sep 2023

The Code Of Life And Death, Braden R. Leach

Notre Dame Journal on Emerging Technologies

Biotechnology is advancing at an astonishing clip, but our safeguards are decades behind. Given new technologies and economies of scale, it is possible for nefarious actors to assemble deadly viruses from scratch using synthetic DNA ordered off the internet. The Select Agents statute helps to prevent malicious actors from acquiring dangerous pathogens, but the Department of Health and Human Services has interpreted it to not cover synthetic DNA. Recognizing the gap, HHS issued guidance recommending that gene synthesis companies verify their customers to ensure their legitimacy and screen genetic sequences for matches to pathogen sequences. Unsurprisingly, voluntary guidance has not …


Preparing The Groundwork For A Responsible Debate On Stem Cell Research And Human Cloning, O. Carter Snead Jan 2005

Preparing The Groundwork For A Responsible Debate On Stem Cell Research And Human Cloning, O. Carter Snead

Journal Articles

The debate over both cloning and stem cell research has been intense and polarizing. It played a significant role in the recently completed presidential campaign, mentioned by both candidates on the stump, at both parties' conventions, and was even taken up directly during one of the presidential debates. The topic has been discussed and debated almost continuously by the members of the legal, scientific, medical, and public policy commentariat. I believe that it is a heartening tribute to our national polity that such a complex moral, ethical, and scientific issue has become a central focus of our political discourse. But, …