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Ethical Symposium Hosted by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Tackles Today's Most Difficult Medical-Ethical Questions Third of four sessions focuses on ethical questions facing parents and children.
May 26, 1999, Memphis, Tenn. -- In the not too distant future, parents will have the option to have their children's genes altered to correct a predisposition to cancer or another deadly disease. While genetic engineering will save countless lives, the same technology will enable us to create the so-called "designer baby." A child's sex, personality, hair color and eye color, for instance, could be predetermined raising far reaching ethical and public policy issues.
This week, the country's leading legal and theological experts together with top cancer researchers will convene to discuss these and other moral, ethical, religious and scientific questions at the "Ethical Boundaries in Cancer Genetics" symposium hosted by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee on May 26-29. The third plenary session, "Gene Therapy in Cancer Treatment and Prevention" will be held at the Memphis Marriott-Downtown Hotel on Friday, May 28 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
"Human genetic engineering used to be a distant concept that made good movies and novels. But, today this technology is right around the corner," said W. French Anderson, M.D., the Director of Gene Therapy Laboratories at the University of Southern California School of Medicine and a speaker at the conference's third plenary session.
"As a worldwide community, we need to start discussing the implications this will have on our society and what public policy steps can be implemented to help prevent and attempt to create genetically superior individuals," said Anderson.
Specific topics covered in this session include: * Somatic Cell Gene Therapy -- explore the practical and public policy issues surrounding gene therapy including safety, the misuse of genetic engineering and the risks and costs associated with new treatments. * Gene Therapy for Cancer Prevention -- discuss the line between using gene therapy to treat disease versus altering the human body by strengthening the immune system before disease strikes. * Germline Gene Therapy -- debate the development of techniques and the ethics surrounding intentional genetic alteration occurring in the early stages of embryonic development.
The final session in the symposium is "Theological Perspectives on Cancer Genetics and Gene Therapy" on May 28 from 1:30 - 5:00 p.m.
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital was founded by the late entertainer Danny Thomas. The hospital is an internationally recognized biomedical research center dedicated to finding cures for catastrophic diseases of childhood. The hospital's work is supported through funds raised by the American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities (ALSAC). All St. Jude Hospital patients are treated regardless of their ability to pay. ALSAC covers all costs of treatment beyond those reimbursed by third party insurers, and total costs for families who have no insurance.
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