Independent Perspective News

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration has revised the charter of a federal advisory committee concerned with the safety of research volunteers to specify that embryos in experiments are "human subjects" whose welfare should be considered along with that of fetuses, children and adults.

The new move does not require that embryos used in research be given any particular protections or have any direct impact on federal policy, but it offers another powerful symbol that the administration considers the rights of embryos and fetuses on par with those of children and adults. The committee, whose members have not yet been appointed, offers recommendations to the Department of Health and Human Services, which would then have to initiate rulemaking or encourage legislation if it wanted to put any new protections in place.

The change was made to recognize that certain populations are particularly vulunerable in today's research, said Arthur J. Lawrence, assistant surgeon general and deputy assistant secretary for health operations, who oversaw the rewriting of the charter. He noted that more women are being included in research studies, and some of them are likely to be pregnant. The charter now specifically directs the committee to consider "pregnant women, embryos and fetuses."

"It's very important to focus in on the risks to women who are pregnant and their embyos and fetuses," he said. "It was the intent of the revision of the charter to insert specifically within the charter the populations that needed to get special consideration."

Other groups specifically mentioned include newborns, children, prisoners and the "decisionally impaired," meaning those who aren't able to give informed consent.

HHS spokesman Bill Pierce said that there is no significance to specifically extending the charter to cover fetuses and embryos. "For many people, the terms fetuses, embryos and unborn children are used to described the same things," he said.

And Pierce emphasized that the advisory committee will not make policy.

"They do not interact in the everyday working of the department."

Still, the revised wording is seen as a political victory for those who favor increased protections for the unborn. In September, the administration enacted a new policy that allows states to include "unborn children" from the moment of conception in the Children's Health Insurance Program.

The revised charter also could be the start of a process that could result in greater restrictions on embryo research at some fertility clinics, universities and research labs, said The Washington Post, which first reported the development Wednesday.

Scientists have increasingly turned to embryos to improve understanding of birth defects and infertility, and as a source of embryonic stem cells, which researchers hope to turn into therapies for a variety of degenerative diseases.

The National Human Research Protections Advisory Committee was created during the Clinton administration. It was allowed to expire in September after HHS officials said they wanted to broaden the committee's charge. It was reincarnated by the new administration October 1 as the Secretary's Advisory Committee on Human Research Protections.