Affirming in principle the importance of biomedical research in improving quality of life in all World Assembly member states,
Simultaneously insisting on the necessity of appropriate bioethical regulation in order to protect the fundamental rights of individuals and other legitimate public interests,
Condemning the target resolution GAR #420, "Protection of Biomedical Research", a resolution that primarily serves to frustrate the responsible regulation of biomedical research by member states,
Noting that the target resolution bars member states from engaging in any regulation of biomedical research except for "scientific standards" and "ethics standards and regulations [that] serve specifically to minimize or eliminate harm to life provably sentient or sapient at the time of research",
Emphasizing the critical importance of numerous ethical regulations that are relevant in the context of biomedical research and in service of legitimate public interests, even though they cannot be established as preventing direct harm to particular sapient or sentient life,
Appalled that this absurdly broad restriction prohibits (or at least would prohibit, should prior legislation be repealed) member states from, among other things:
- securing legal protection from harmful medical experimentation to the historically vulnerable class of persons who, while not "provably sentient or sapient at the time of research" may indeed regain such capacity, such as individuals in comas or persistent vegetative states,
- granting precautionary legal protection from potentially harmful medical experimentation to potentially sentient or sapient life that has not yet been definitively "proven" to be such, perhaps due to difficulties in communication,
- requiring appropriate reverence for the remains of deceased sapient life in the course of biomedical research,
- mandating that biomedical researchers abide by reasonable financial disclosure and conflict of interest rules, and
- providing adequate legal protection for the environment in the context of biomedical research, at least with respect to non-sapient animal, plant, bacterial, and fungal life such as coral reefs and old-growth forests,
Understanding that significant portions of the remainder of the target resolution are largely redundant in light of GAR #111, "Medical Research Ethics Act" and GAR #219, "Biomedical Innovation Org", for the following reasons:
- the target resolution requires the Biomedical Innovation Organization (BIO) to coordinate "international efforts at biomedical research", despite the fact that GAR #219 already requires the BIO to coordinate "research on treatments involving biomedical tissues conducted within WA member nations",
- the target resolution mandates the BIO with developing minimum scientific and ethical standards for biomedical research and serving as an advisory body for biomedical ethics organizations and regulatory bodies, even though GAR #111 already establishes and regulates bodies required for upholding medical research ethics in member states, and
- the target resolution establishes an "internationally-accessible database of ongoing biomedical research within Member-States", even though GAR #219 already requires the BIO to include "research data for biomedical innovations as a part of the Database Of Clinical Treatments Under Study",
Seeking to remove harmful and redundant legislation from the pages of international law,
The General Assembly,
Repeals GAR #420, "Protection of Biomedical Research".
