[PASSED] Protection of Biomedical Research

[Tinfect]

"At the risk of being jailed for refusing to assist in the government's research."

"If your Government arrests research personnel that resign their positions, I would highly recommend alteration of that policy, Ambassador. Very rarely is such action justified."

[United Massachusetts]

"At the risk of being jailed for refusing to assist in the government's research."

"If your Government arrests research personnel that resign their positions, I would highly recommend alteration of that policy, Ambassador. Very rarely is such action justified."

"Some nations here do, apparently. Furthermore, one ought not lose their job over a moral stance they take."

[Stoskavanya]

"Some nations here do, apparently. Furthermore, one ought not lose their job over a moral stance they take."

Then make a resolution about that, rather than tack a single exception on a Biomedical act?

[United Massachusetts]

"Some nations here do, apparently. Furthermore, one ought not lose their job over a moral stance they take."

Then make a resolution about that, rather than tack a single exception on a Biomedical act?

"Which takes us to our second point. The whole resolution is written as an attempt to shove embryonic stem cell research down the throats of this Assembly."

[Tinfect]

"Some nations here do, apparently."

"Unfortunate."

"Furthermore, one ought not lose their job over a moral stance they take."

"If they refuse to do their job, as with any person employed, they should not expect to retain that job. Whether the refusal is based on 'moral' stance, or simple laziness, is irrelevant."

"Which takes us to our second point. The whole resolution is written as an attempt to shove embryonic stem cell research down the throats of this Assembly."

"Stem-Cell research, embryonic or otherwise, is not mentioned at any point, past or present, within the draft."

[United Massachusetts]

"Don't even pretend this isn't about stem cell research. It requires us to rescind any restrictions on research on non-sentient life. An embryo, if I recall, is not sentient."

[Tinfect]

"It requires us to rescind any restrictions on research on non-sentient life. An embryo, if a recall, is not sentient."

"Congratulations, Ambassador. While the Imperium does not offer commendation for basic competence, I believe a 'Gold Star' can be acquired from World Assembly personnel upon request."

[United Massachusetts]

"It requires us to rescind any restrictions on research on non-sentient life. An embryo, if a recall, is not sentient."

"Congratulations, Ambassador. While the Imperium does not offer commendation for basic competence, I believe a 'Gold Star' can be acquired from World Assembly personnel upon request."

"Ambassador, please. Your condescension is far from appreciated. "

[Tinfect]

"Ambassador, please. Your condescension is far from appreciated. "

"Of course."

[States of Glory WA Office]

"An embryo, if a recall, is not sentient."

Neville: Ah, so your Delegation has no objection to abortion, then?

[United Massachusetts]

"An embryo, if a recall, is not sentient."

Neville: Ah, so your Delegation has no objection to abortion, then?

"Where did we say that? Who said sentience is the marker of personhood? Furthermore, our Delegation ought to note that an embryo is, in essence, at a different developmental stage than a fetus, which is, in fact, sentient."

[States of Glory WA Office]

Neville: Ah, so your Delegation has no objection to abortion, then?

"Where did we say that? Who said sentience is the marker of personhood?"

Neville: So it's possible for a person not even to be sentient, let alone sapient?

[United Massachusetts]

"Where did we say that? Who said sentience is the marker of personhood?"

Neville: So it's possible for a person not even to be sentient, let alone sapient?

"Correct. Any other definition necessarily leads to ableism and other discriminatory practices. Calling some living organisms with human genomes "less human" than others is, I'm pretty certain, rule #1 in Discrimination for Dummies. Though, I could be wrong--I've never bothered reading it, unlike certain delegations here."

OOC:

[Tinfect]

"Correct. Any other definition necessarily leads to ableism and other discriminatory practices. Calling some living organisms with human genomes "less human" than others is, I'm pretty certain, rule #1 in Discrimination for Dummies. Though, I could be wrong--I've never bothered reading it, unlike certain delegations here."

"For reference, Ambassador, the Imperium would direct you to the following section of Resolution Three-Fifty-Five."

Mandates that member nations extend the same rights given to humans below the age of majority and mentally ill or mentally disabled humans to the sapient beings below the age of majority and mentally disabled or mentally ill beings of the same species as a sapient being.

[United Massachusetts]

"Correct. Any other definition necessarily leads to ableism and other discriminatory practices. Calling some living organisms with human genomes "less human" than others is, I'm pretty certain, rule #1 in Discrimination for Dummies. Though, I could be wrong--I've never bothered reading it, unlike certain delegations here."

"For reference, Ambassador, the Imperium would direct you to the following section of Resolution Three-Fifty-Five."

Mandates that member nations extend the same rights given to humans below the age of majority and mentally ill or mentally disabled humans to the sapient beings below the age of majority and mentally disabled or mentally ill beings of the same species as a sapient being.

"Unfortunately, Ambassador, the position of the Assembly at present is intellectually inconsistent."

[Tinfect]

"Unfortunately, Ambassador, the position of the Assembly at present is intellectually inconsistent."

"The Imperium would recommend that you cease projecting your failings onto the Assembly at large. The Imperium would be happy to provide personnel able to assist you in this, should your national health services fail to provide modern treatments."

[United Massachusetts]

"Unfortunately, Ambassador, the position of the Assembly at present is intellectually inconsistent."

"The Imperium would recommend that you cease projecting your failings onto the Assembly at large. The Imperium would be happy to provide personnel able to assist you in this, should your national health services fail to provide modern treatments."

"We've put in a petition for your national morals in our 'Prayers of the Faithful.'"

[Tinfect]

"We've put in a petition for your national morals in our 'Prayers of the Faithful.'"

"I will see to it that the primitiveness of your society is added to the Imperial Travel Advisory."

[United Massachusetts]

"We've put in a petition for your national morals in our 'Prayers of the Faithful.'"

"I will see to it that the primitiveness of your society is added to the Imperial Travel Advisory."

"Don't worry--we'll issue a travel warning explaining the hostility of the Imperium to religious individuals. Two can play at your game, good Sir."

[Tinfect]

"Don't worry--we'll issue a travel warning explaining the hostility of the Imperium to religious individuals. Two can play at your game, good Sir."

"The Imperium does not allow entry to foreign personnel, primitivists or otherwise, for any reason."

[United Massachusetts]

"Don't worry--we'll issue a travel warning explaining the hostility of the Imperium to religious individuals. Two can play at your game, good Sir."

"The Imperium does not allow entry to foreign personnel, primitivists or otherwise, for any reason."

"It's a warning to those attempting to sneak in, alongside our 70-page long travel warning already in place for the Imperium."

[Tinfect]

"It's a warning to those attempting to sneak in, alongside our 70-page long travel warning already in place for the Imperium."

"The Imperium will note your Government's admission of sponsoring illegal entry into Member-States. I am certain that Imperial Intelligence will appreciate the information."

[Attempted Socialism]

Yes. As written at present, this would force scientists to participate in embryonic stem cell research, despite their wishes."

"If a scientist has an objection to doing science, they ought to either find another occupation or find an employer who will show leniency towards their proclivity for unreasonable abstention from their work, or an employer who will agree at the onset to not demand that their employees make use of the full range of their abilities. Because of the nature of the means of production in the Solidarity Movement the latter options would be difficult, while the first is more easy. I'm sure employees and employers in United Massachusetts can work something out as well."

[Desmosthenes and Burke]

"We have several comments about this garbage and blatant show of petty vindictiveness that ought to be below the dignity of this body to consider and which evinces a very basic lack of understanding about what is and ought be included in the domain of research ethics. We have prepared a visual presentation is bright and cheerful colours, as we doubt the ability of some delegations to understand beyond a primary school level."

Yes. As written at present, this would force scientists to participate in embryonic stem cell research, despite their wishes."

"Our Ministry of Evading and Resisting Radical World Assembly Meddling (MERRWAM) offers the following:

Enforce anti-discrimination laws. Especially at state funded institutions. We believe at least some notions of the meaning of discrimination would cover 'my flavour of mythological sky fairy prohibits x so I will not do y' situations. This is a national level solution.

It certainly may not qualify as the best solution, and does absolutely nothing to address the other numerous shortfalls of the resolution, but in States that wish to protect the freedom of conscience, it will soften the blow."

"Moving on, the Ministry of Leftists Are Bad at Rational Thought and Consequences takes severe issue with the following:"

That Member-States rescind any and all biomedical research ethics standards and regulations that do not serve specifically to minimize or eliminate harm to life provably sentient or sapient at the time of research...

"Congratulations ambassador, but we believe your lack of drafting and imprecise language could be construed to abrogate all of the following within the field of bio-medical research:

1. Regulations requiring mandatory disclosure of who is funding a study is no longer permissible, as this rule does not minimize or eliminate harm to life, but is about allowing for critical evaluation of potential bias. No harm will come to anyone because BioPharma did or did not have to say it funded a study about its newest drug.
2. Regulations pertaining to the roles of a research team. Who is or is not an author, who owns the results and intermediaries, and many rules governing research in academic settings about boundaries between professors and students &c seem to fall far outside the ambit of minimizing harm to life as we commonly understand it.
3. Conflicts of Interest. While some conflict of interest rules are about protecting against harms to life, others are about the integrity, bias, and appearance of propriety in research and are unconcerned with harm to people, and must therefore go.
4. Regulations about resource management and expected benefits. A project could certainly be harmless and still an utter waste of resources or be seriously unaligned with priorities.
5. Regulations about record keeping. We will not argue that we cannot mandate some level of record keeping, as a record of what you did to someone is unarguably necessary to know whether or not you harmed them, this proposal inhibits mandating of full record keeping, especially about ancilliary or pure research matters. The real purpose of the record mandating is about billing, legal compliance, and replication of results.
6. Stripping state universities of the ability to mitigate any of the above. Acts by state universities are usually ascribed as actions of the member state, meaning they cannot institute institutional policies to mitigate any of the above effects, which we admit many private entities COULD (although at least in some instances we suspect their interests would align with NOT doing so).

"Some of this can be gotten around. Some of it would be more difficult, but a better considered, more moderate proposal that is not be driven and rushed by your pettiness would in all respects be better."

[Tinfect]

"We have prepared a visual presentation is bright and cheerful colours, as we doubt the ability of some delegations to understand beyond a primary school level."

"Your lack of confidence in the delegation of United Massachusetts is noted."

Enforce anti-discrimination laws. Especially at state funded institutions. We believe at least some notions of the meaning of discrimination would cover 'my flavour of mythological sky fairy prohibits x so I will not do y' situations. This is a national level solution.

"Ambassador, you would do well to inform your 'ministry' that such would be a gross abuse of such laws, and, yet another flagrant violation of World Assembly law, specifically Resolution Thirty-Five, that Nations such as the Commonwealth engage in quite frequently. In any case, they seem to refuse even the most token attempts at compliance, as such, I suspect that this advice will go unheeded, their Government preferring to continue to simply ignore International Law outright."

"Congratulations ambassador, but we believe your lack of drafting and imprecise language could be construed to abrogate all of the following within the field of bio-medical research:
Regulations requiring mandatory disclosure of who is funding a study is no longer permissible, as this rule does not minimize or eliminate harm to life, but is about allowing for critical evaluation of potential bias. No harm will come to anyone because BioPharma did or did not have to say it funded a study about its newest drug.

"That is an ethical or scientific regulation or standard, and as such, is mandated by the legislation."

Regulations pertaining to the roles of a research team. Who is or is not an author, who owns the results and intermediaries, and many rules governing research in academic settings about boundaries between professors and students &c seem to fall far outside the ambit of minimizing harm to life as we commonly understand it.

"Those are ethical and scientific standards, and are in fact, mandated by this legislation."

Conflicts of Interest. While some conflict of interest rules are about protecting against harms to life, others are about the integrity, bias, and appearance of propriety in research and are unconcerned with harm to people, and must therefore go.

"Those are scientific and ethical standards, and are, as a result, mandated, by this legislation."

Regulations about resource management and expected benefits. A project could certainly be harmless and still an utter waste of resources or be seriously unaligned with priorities.

"Practicality would presumably be a concern when deciding whether or not research will be conducted in the first place. It is not the place of the Imperium to save you from the incompetence of your own personnel. Regardless, the legislation does not prevent your government or private entities from rejecting research proposals that are simple wastes of time and resources."

Regulations about record keeping. We will not argue that we cannot mandate some level of record keeping, as a record of what you did to someone is unarguably necessary to know whether or not you harmed them, this proposal inhibits mandating of full record keeping, especially about ancilliary or pure research matters. The real purpose of the record mandating is about billing, legal compliance, and replication of results.

"Those are scientific and ethical standards, and are, again, mandated by this legislation."

"Some of this can be gotten around. Some of it would be more difficult, but a better considered, more moderate proposal that is not be driven and rushed by your pettiness would in all respects be better."

"Ambassador, it appears that you have either not read the legislation, or that you are incapable of reading it. I would recommend that you follow the Commonwealth delegation to wherever it is you propose they take their remedial education courses."