Controversial Bioethicist Resigns From Celltex
ananyo writes "Bioethicist Glenn McGee has resigned his position as president of ethics and strategic initiatives at the stem-cell firm Celltex Therapeutics in Houston, Texas. Yesterday, Slashdot posted a story that suggested Celltex may have administered unproven treatments to several patients. The move comes at the end of a turbulent three months, which has seen McGee blasted by other bioethicists for working at the controversial stem-cell company while also holding the post of editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Bioethics, the most cited bioethics journal in the world. McGee announced that he had resigned, effective 28 February, on Twitter last night — the move came just two weeks after the 13 February press release by Celltex announcing that he would take the position."
Frankly, I dont see the issue with administering unproven treatments to people who would otherwise suffer and die. So long as the risks are made clear to them. The idea of being told I'm going to die in a month, but they cant try a treatment that could cure me because it could kill me is silly.
"Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
So he took the position there just in time to find out the place is shady, take a bunch of heat, and resign?
That sucks.
They are meddling with the forces of Nature, forces that they cannot control or understand. I believe that the Bioethicists role is designed around a misconception of why we have ethics, and as a consequence the ethics go wrong. If your ethics go wrong in a certain manner, you break as a person. Your job will fail, in other words.
The purpose of existence is to make money.
Doesn't the job "Ethicist" sound like bullshit? Not that ethics isn't a valid field of study, it's just that it feels like more of a religion than something serious. I mean really isn't it just a way of codifying your opinion?
Look where all this talking got us, baby.
The story is a hoax people. Celltex Therapeutics is fake; there aren't any stem cell companies in the US, and in particular not in Texas (where 'Celltex' is supposedly based,) because the bushies chased all the stem cell work to Europe and Asia with their fundy policies.
Also, even if Celltex existed, it couldn't possibly be engaged in anything unethical. Only the fundies were stupid enough to believe anything like that might happen, so that's obviously nonsense.
Please, stop falling for these hoaxes. Also, do spend your mod points rating Anonymous Coward a troll.
Giving unapproved stem cell "treatments" to unknowing patients. Sounds like a movie or a Nazi meme.
Just like the animals with the glowing skin, what unknown changes can these make to the brain? People are right to be worried about contamination caused by genetically engineered crops. This is orders of magnitude worse. And we don't even know about the secret experiments being done in other countries with ethics for sale to the highest bidders.
You prove that this works through clinical trials. But Celltex Therapeutics isn't conducting any such trials. They have made vague comments about starting some trials sometime in the future, but that's it. They don't have any control subjects. They don't have any animal test results on which they are basing their human predictions on. They haven't even identified what ailments they are going to be testing their treatment for!
In the meanwhile they are happy to inject anyone willing to pay the $7k+ per injection, for whatever ailment they complain about, regardless of whether there is any reason to think the treatment would help, or whether the patient would otherwise suffer and die.
blasted by other bioethicists for working at the controversial stem-cell company
Fail. This is exactly the kind of company that we want a bioethicist working for.
He would have given me tickets.
No brain, no pain.
didnt read the article but is it possible he got a better offer?
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.