McGill scholar
Abby Lippman speaks out in the
Globe and Mail against the commercialization of women's eggs:
Your latest call for research cloning in Canada once again makesno mention of the serious concerns raised by the technique. Even if thepromises by scientists and politicians of cures for patients and booststo the economy were realizable, this approach to embryo stem cellresearch requires a continuous supply of fresh human eggs. To get theseeggs, women must be given large doses of powerful hormones tohyper-stimulate the ovaries. This is not just uncomfortable, butpotentially very risky.
Scientists have called research cloning a wildly inefficient processrequiring hundreds of eggs to produce just a single clone. And to date,there have been no validated reports that this actually can happen.
The approach you urge is likely to mean paying women for eggsand the start of a commercial market. To avoid turning women into eggfarms, let's continue to support research within the law.
Abby Lippman, PhD
Professor, McGill University
Chair, Canadian Women's Health Network
[Editor's Note: Thanks for letting us know about this, Abby!]
Your latest call for research cloning in Canada once again makesno mention of the serious concerns raised by the technique. Even if thepromises by scientists and politicians of cures for patients and booststo the economy were realizable, this approach to embryo stem cellresearch requires a continuous supply of fresh human eggs. To get theseeggs, women must be given large doses of powerful hormones tohyper-stimulate the ovaries. This is not just uncomfortable, butpotentially very risky.
Scientists have called research cloning a wildly inefficient processrequiring hundreds of eggs to produce just a single clone. And to date,there have been no validated reports that this actually can happen.
The approach you urge is likely to mean paying women for eggsand the start of a commercial market. To avoid turning women into eggfarms, let's continue to support research within the law.
Abby Lippman, PhD
[Editor's Note: Thanks for letting us know about this, Abby!]Professor, McGill University
Chair, Canadian Women's Health Network