Lengthening the stem: allowing federally funded researchers to derive human pluripotent stem cells from embryos

Recent developments in fetal tissue research and stem cell research have led to dramatic breakthroughs in the search for cures for Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, and a host of neurological disorders. Because this research involves fetal tissue and stem cells from human embryos, many complicated ethical and legal implications surround it. This Note explores the history of fetal tissue research and stem cell research, examines the surrounding ethical and legal issues, looks at the current state of federal law, and concludes that Congress should allow federally funded researchers to derive stem cells from discarded human embryos obtained from in vitro fertilization clinics.     

Embryonic discourse: abortion, stem cells and cloning

This Article interprets the debate about abortion and the debate about embryonic research and therapeutic cloning as aspects of a larger history of ideas. The Article suggests that embryos increasingly stand for different truths in discourse about abortion on the one-hand and about embryonic stem cell research and therapeutic cloning on the other. More specifically, the Article suggests that the contemporary debate about the meaning of the embryo in the context both of abortion and of embryonic research bespeaks a widespread transformation in Western, and especially American, society during the last three or four decades. At base, that transformation involves displacement of an understanding of personhood, particularly in domestic settings that depended on the submersion of individualism with an understanding of personhood that values autonomous individuality and that envisions community as the consequence of individuals' distinct choices rather than as a pre-existing, hierarchically structured whole.     

Simple rules for a complex regulatory world: the case of financial regulation

European Journal of Law and Economics - Twenty-five years ago Richard Epstein published Simple Rules for a Complex World, which would go on to become one of Epstein’s most influential works....     

Underwhelmed: hyperbole,regulatory policy,and the genetic revolution

Rapid advances in the field of genetics in recent years have caused some commentators to suggest the emergence of a "genetic revolution." Such advances have been both praised as the "future of medicine" and condemned for encouraging the acceptance in society of laissez-faire eugenics. Yet the effect of technological advances flowing from the science of genetics appear somewhat overstated as few products of the genetic revolution, particularly in the areas of gene therapy and genetic testing, have managed to satisfy scientists' expectations to date. Furthermore, misdirected regulation of such advances can exacerbate the social, legal, and ethical problems associated with genetics, particularly in the context of health care, where issues of human cloning and the use of premature genetic testing technologies dominate current public debate. In this article, the author criticizes the hyperbolic rhetoric surrounding the genetic revolution and calls for a more balanced and informed approach to the development of genetic policies and regulations. Such an approach should include substantial interdisciplinary debate and an active role on the part of government in the identification and communication of accurate information relating to the effects of recent technological advances in the field of genetics.     

Analyzing regulatory failure: mismatches, less restrictive alternatives, and reform

Professor Breyer presents here a framework for analysis and reform of economic regulation. The framework consists of three basic elements: justifications for regulation, modes of classical regulation and the problems they entail, and "less restrictive alternatives" to regulation, including taxation and disclosure. Using contemporary regulatory programs as examples, Professor Breyer argues that many such programs are ill designed to meet their objectives, and that the problems inherent in such regulatory regimes are severe. Finally, he briefly sketches how one might, as a practical matter, go about achieving reform, citing as an example the recent change in airline regulation.     

Democracy and corruption: a complex relationship

We argue that an ‘electoral democracy’ is not sufficient to reduce corruption. Our contention is that the institutions associated with mature democracy are crucial to successfully deterring corrupt behaviour. At the core of our argument is the idea that with well-functioning institutions, the probability of detection and punishment is sufficiently high to deter most decision makers from choosing to act corruptly. The empirical evidence we present supports this idea. The nonlinearity of democracy variables is tested to confirm that an advanced stage of democracy is crucial for combating corruption.     

Statutory interpretation, capture, and tort law: the regulatory compliance defense

The regulatory compliance defense holds firms liable whose productsor product warnings fail to satisfy federal regulatory standards,but does not exculpate firms that comply. Rather, complianceis relevant evidence for a jury to consider in a products liabilityaction. This article argues that the defense should exculpatecompliant firms as a matter of law. A Congress that thoughtabout the matter would prefer this judicial construction ofan unclear safety statute. To defend this view, the articleargues that a legislature can have intentions in a normativelymeaningful sense, that claims that a Congress or its agenciesare captured by special interests should be nonjusticiable,and that, when a court is in doubt as to what a legislatureintended, it should adopt that construction of the relevantstatute that would be easiest for the legislature to correctif the court errs. In this case, it is easier for Congress tocorrect a construction that it intended to exculpate compliantfirms than a construction that it did not.     

Fraud, banking crisis, and regulatory enforcement: Evidence from micro-level transactions data

Can widespread fraud cause large scale banking crises? We address this issue in the context of the recent Turkish banking crisis of 2000, which was followed by a severe recession and currency crisis. Using detailed micro-level transactions data, we show that related lending and back-to-back loans across banks were used to circumvent regulation and transfer deposits to private holding companies that were ruined. Our evidence suggests that systemic fraud coupled with weak enforcement of conventional regulatory principles can be a source of banking crisis.