Genes without Patents: ACLU attorney joins discussion of Supreme Court case
As Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan questioned Myriad Genetics’ attorney about patenting genes, Chris Hansen rejoiced.
The attorney said that yes, genes should be patentable. But it was only under the pressure of further questions that he said that chromosomes, too, should be patentable, and — more reluctantly still — organs such as kidneys.
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Hansen discussed the proceedings and the decision’s ramifications Tuesday at the Science Center. He was joined by George Church, the Robert Winthrop Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School; Professor I. Glenn Cohen of Harvard Law School; Judy Norsigian, executive director Our Bodies Ourselves, a nonprofit focused on women’s health; and Tania Simoncelli, former ACLU science adviser and today assistant director for forensic sciences with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Sheila Jasanoff, the Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology at the Kennedy School, served as moderator. [...]
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genetics health law policy human tissue i. glenn cohen intellectual property judicial opinions public health