News by Subject Policy & Ethics

The ISSCR is updating its Guidelines to respond to recent scientific advances that include the use of pluripotent stem cell (PSC) to create models of early human embryo development (see Stem Cell Reports 14:1-6). As the science continues to advance, it raises important scientific, clinical, ethical, and societal issues for researchers, regulators, and funding agencies. The ISSCR believes the scientific community must address these challenges to establish parameters for research in this area.

Thirty-seven states require minors to either notify their parents or go before a judge before having an abortion. New research shows as many 13% are denied in court.

Before sharing human research data, scientists routinely strip it of personal information such as name, address, and birthdate in order to protect the privacy of their study participants. However, a new study shows that for environmental health studies, that might not be enough--even anonymized data can sometimes be traced back to individuals.

A new study shows that implementing hospital-based palliative care services in New York State reduces treatment intensity at the end of life for hospitalized patients. Implementation of palliative care was associated with a 10% reduction in utilization of an intensive care unit for patients who died during their hospitalization. an absolute decrease in end-of-life ICU use of just 4% would translate to a difference in cost of approximately $265 million per year in the US.

Direct-to-consumer hormone-based 'fertility testing' for women is viewed by consumers as both an alternative, empowering tool for family planning, and a confusing and misleading one, according to the results of a new study from Penn Medicine.

A new assessment of the Medicare Part D program based on a proposal from the West Health Policy Center finds that Medicare beneficiaries would save $29 billion if drug manufacturer rebates were used to reduce their out-of-pocket costs at the pharmacy counter through the Part D benefit -- as long as these rebate savings are not also used to reduce Part D manufacturer liability.

Whether or not a patient receives pain treatment when seeking emergency medical services may depend, in part, on their race or ethnicity, according to a new study by Portland State researchers.

Long-acting reversible contraceptives like intrauterine implants have greatly reduced unintended pregnancies and abortions, but government protections allowing religious hospitals to restrict care are limiting access to health care consumers, according to an expert at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.