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The Supreme Court case that helped put a ‘for sale’ sign on our genes
This case that first secured the right to patent ‘life,’ which set the stage for the biotech revolution and a debate about what can be monetized.
Live recording held at the café at AS220 on Empire Street, Providence at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Public Rights and Private Fights: With an expanded eight-week season and a prestigious grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, this year Action Speaks looks at moments when the rights of the individual have clashed with the needs or beliefs of the public—and where the line between private and public has been defined or blurred.
Don’t forget to check out Monday Night pre-panel documentaries at 9 p.m. on RIPBS.
In 2012, we decided to ask one of our panelists or an additional scholar to write texts for each of our Action Speaks’ topics. Click here for essay by Sophie Kim, JD Candidate, Harvard Law School & I. Glenn Cohen, Assistant Professor, Harvard Law School and Co-Director, Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics.
Panelists:
Ananda Chakrabarty, a Professor at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago. While working at the Research & Development Center at General Electric Company, he was awarded the ‘Scientist of the Year’ award in 1975 by Industrial Research Organization of the United States. This work led to the development of a genetically-manipulated microorganism that was the subject matter of a landmark decision from the Supreme Court of the United States that genetically engineered life forms are patentable.
David Bollier, an author, activist, blogger and independent scholar with a primary focus on the commons as a new paradigm of economics, politics and culture. He has pursued this work for more than ten years, as a founding editor of Onthecommons.org (2002-2010), and co-founder and principal of the Commons Strategies Group, an international consulting project that works with global policy activists.
Glenn Cohen, an Assistant Professor at Harvard Law School and Co-Director of the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School. Prof. Cohen is one of the world’s leading experts on the intersection of bioethics (sometimes also called “medical ethics”) and the law, as well as health law.
Click here for images from live recording
Bibliography:
- Tissue Economics; Blood, Organs, and Cell Lines in Late Capitalism by Catherine Waldby and Robert Mitchell; Duke University Press 2006
- Who Owns You? The Corporate Gold Rush to Patent Your Genes by David Koepsell; Wiley-Blackwell 2009
- Who Owns Life Edited by David Magnus, Arthur Caplan and Glenn McGee; Prometheus Books 2002
Now in its seventeenth year, Action Speaks is made possible by generous financial and in-kind support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, AS220, Robinson & Cole, LLP, WGBH 89.7 Boston, RIPBS, and the Providence Phoenix. Action Speaks has been heard on over 175 radio stations across the United States, and is presented by WGBH 89.7 in Boston. If you can’t be at our live taping, you can listen and download each show free from our website ten days following each panel.
Can a bacterium really be considered “life” if a microbiologist has genetically engineered changes? Listen up to hear Dr. Ananda Chakrabarty’s opinion!