Driverless vehicles continue to raise difficult legal and moral questions around safety. What are the regulatory implications for this fast-paced industry?

Autonomous vehicles (AV) that require no input from human occupants are currently being tested on public roads. Experimental prototypes, still closely supervised by people, are already mixing with ordinary traffic in parts of the US, Canada, UK, Sweden, Germany and Japan.

Technology giant Google alone has clocked up more than 2.2 million miles of autonomous testing[1] since it began developing its technology in 2009. It has now launched a new company, Waymo, to commercialise the technology. Other participants - including manufacturers like Volvo, parts suppliers such as Bosch and service providers like Uber - are pursuing their own ambitious development projects.

The arrival of autonomous vehicles as either purchasable products or hireable services now seems inevitable. However, in addition to the obvious technological challenges, driverless vehicles also raise a host of legal and moral questions. Our roads, our laws and our expectations have all been shaped by more than a century of vehicles controlled by human beings, with all their foibles and failings. Adding robotic cars, buses and trucks to the mix is not going to be trivial.

"There are certain areas of the law that are well equipped to deal with new technology, such as the patent system," notes Daniel Cole, an intellectual property partner at Gowling WLG. "But the archaic language of traffic laws that talk about a vehicle being under a person's control - that's all going to have to be completely revamped. And if you've ever watched anything move through a legislature, you'll know that's not happening in a month. That's years and years of work."

Setting the legal framework

Legal questions run from relatively minor issues, such as who pays for speeding fines, to deep moral questions about putting one life ahead of another in an accident.

One potentially tricky area is how to deal with rules that sometimes need to be broken. "Imagine an AV sitting at a red traffic light while an ambulance is trying to get through, refusing to move because it's been told it can't run through a red light. Meanwhile a patient is dying," says Cole. "There has to be a way to say it's OK to have that technical violation in these circumstances. But that's tricky because there are endless possibilities."

Liability when things go wrong is another area that is expected to create challenges. "There's going to be a shift in liability from the driver to the manufacturer or the people who market these products," observes Andr Rivest, Gowling WLG partner and head of its automotive group in Canada. Especially in the early days of adoption, when AVs and human drivers interact, it may be difficult to establish exactly who is liable for what, he cautions.

Putting members of the public in driverless vehicles will also require crossing a Rubicon that manufacturers - and their lawyers and insurers - may find unnerving. "If you look at today's features, like lane departure warning, they all come with disclaimers warning that they don't replace the driver's responsibility," notes Cole. "At some point we're going to flip that on its head and say that manufacturers are in control of the car. That's a huge mind-shift."

Rivest agrees. "The transition from lower level autonomy to full autonomy is where it's really delicate, and that's what we are beginning to address," he notes. "How should an AV react if a small child runs out after a ball and the car can't stop in time, but if it veers to the side it will run down an elderly couple? Who will make these decisions?"

Redefining risk

People are fallible and human error accounts for an estimated 94% of crashes, according to figures published in the US. To limit the danger, we expect drivers to exercise good judgement and behave as responsibly as possible. Highway patrols, traffic cameras, fines and the threat of imprisonment back up that requirement, but we also acknowledge that human skill is variable. We simply live with the risk that some drivers will make fatal mistakes behind the wheel.

Yet we tend to be less willing to accept risks, even of a much lesser scale, when they are posed by machines. We expect dangers in equipment to be spotted and removed, preferably before anyone is hurt.

Similarly, the knowledge that computerised systems can react more quickly than human drivers in an emergency has led to hopes that AVs might dramatically reduce the overall frequency of accidents. But this potential has also fuelled speculation that driverless vehicles will need to include a "moral algorithm" to determine how they should react when human life is at stake. After all, an AV may need to decide whether to protect occupants at the expense of bystanders, for example.

"When cars crash today, people act instinctively - they don't make conscious decisions," points out Stuart Young, head of automotive at Gowling WLG in the UK. "But when you program a car, you are sitting at a computer writing the code, and you have every opportunity to make a calculated decision about what the car should do in given circumstances. I think there will be a moral judgement on someone who's been able to contemplate and come to a conclusion."

'Intelligent' software systems

However, the situation may not be so clear cut. It is likely that autonomous vehicles will rely on complex software techniques, such as neural networks or genetic algorithms, which can acquire expertise without human reasoning. For example, a software system might "learn" the capability to recognise a cyclist by being provided with many thousands of example images, rather than any formal definition composed by a programmer. Internally, the software will build up a complex mathematical model allowing it to successfully recognise new images of cyclists. However, there will be no step-by-step reasoning in the software that can be unravelled and understood.

Similar machine learning techniques are likely to be employed extensively within AV development, ultimately dictating how the vehicle will react to unfolding circumstances. A software model will be built up over millions of miles of testing, helping the AV to interpret any consciously coded set of rules.

What results is a mire of moral questions that include not just which decisions ought to be made but how they might be reached. Some types of programming might be subject to debate.

"Regulation needs to get on top of this," says Young. "It needs to get ahead of it. Because at the moment there's nothing giving a clear steer as to who's going to take responsibility for what, or whether all decisions are going to be left to manufacturers."

That path, as Cole notes, means waiting for things to go wrong to establish legal precedents that might provide a measure of clarity.

International regulation models

Gowling WLG is calling for an alternative approach that recognises the need for affirmative action by governments around the world. Pre-emptive regulation of autonomous vehicles need not hold back their development, argues Young. Instead, clarity over expectations and responsibilities would likely resolve some hard-to-quantify business risks that might otherwise stand as stumbling blocks.

"What we've been looking at is asking government to set up an independent agency to regulate the technology," says Young. "In the UK, we have the HFEA (Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority), which may seem like an odd analogy, but it has been successful. There's a lot of ethics involved in embryology and development, but it was set up as an independent government agency with the right representation. It's broadly seen as having done a very good job of allowing development whilst tracking and reflecting ethical concerns in society. And that's what we need for the moral aspects of the algorithms that are going to be developed."

It is also vital to recognise that the vehicle industry is a global one, where international agreements make more sense than local regulations. Given that vehicles can drive across national borders, useful models for regulation may also be found in the air transport industry, where international pacts govern corporate behaviour and limit liability for carriers.

Vehicles are already more heavily regulated than other consumer products, with type approval to ensure compliance with national and international regulations, and compulsory safety recalls to correct serious errors, so any move to regulate the programming of AVs would not be without precedent.

Today, most countries with a significant automotive manufacturing base have started to grapple with the issues raised by AVs, with varying levels of ambition. In the UK, for example, the Department for Transport recently carried out a consultation[2] to examine what changes might be needed to insurance, type approval regulations and the national Highway Code.

"The most comprehensive exercise I've seen is in the US," says Young. "The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has done a pretty thorough job with the Federal Automated Vehicles Policy[3], issued in September. It's a root and branch review of what needs to be done to create the right legal framework in the US (including a model state-by-state code), what should be retained at a federal level, and what needs to be set down in terms of vehicle safety. Of course, there have been critics of the policy, particularly around the data sharing aspects, and with the new Trump administration there is some doubt over whether it will get any further Federal support."

As technology advances, society is likely to recognise that AVs - even those without a verifiable moral algorithm - can save lives simply by reacting more swiftly, more decisively and more accurately to sudden unforeseen danger. The question that then arises is: how much safer than human drivers do AVs need to become before we are morally obliged to adopt them?

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Navigating the moral maze of driverless vehicles: Safety, risks and regulation - Lexology (registration)

New research has unraveled the mystery of how mitochondriathe energy generators within cellscan withstand attacks on their DNA from rogue molecules.

The findings could pave the way for new treatments to tackle neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. The research could also have important implications for clinical advances in 'mitochondrial donation' -- known as the 'three-parent baby' -- used to correct defects in faulty mitochondria. The five-year study led by scientists at the University of Sheffield, published today (28 April 2017) in Science Advances, reveals how the enzyme TDP1 - which is already known to have a role in repairing damaged DNA in the cell's nucleus - is also responsible for repairing damage to mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA).

Mitochondria are the powerhouses of cells, they generate the energy required for all cellular activity and have their own DNA -- the genetic material which they rely upon to produce important proteins for their function.

During the process of energy production and making proteins, a large amount of rogue reactive oxygen species are produced which constantly attack the DNA in the mitochondria. These attacks break their DNA, however the new findings show mitochondria have their very own repair toolkits which are constantly active to maintain their own DNA integrity.

Lead author of the study, Professor Sherif El-Khamisy, a Wellcome Trust Investigator and Chair of Molecular Medicine at the University of Sheffield, said: "Each mitochondria repair toolkit has unique components -- enzymes -- which can cut, hammer and seal the breaks. The presence of these enzymes is important for energy production.

"Defects in repairing DNA breaks in the mitochondria affect vital organs that rely heavily on energy such as the brain. It also has implications on mitochondria replacement therapies recently approved in the UK and known as 'three parent babies'."

Although much research has focused on how free radicals damage the DNA in the cell's nucleus, their effect on mitochondrial DNA is less well understood despite this damage to mtDNA being responsible for many different types of disease such as neurological disorders.

Having healthy mitochondria is also essential for tissue regeneration, making it particularly important for successful organ transplants. The team further identified a mechanism through which mtDNA can be damaged and then fixed, via a protein called TOP1, which is responsible for untangling coils of mtDNA. When the long strands become tangled, TOP1 breaks and quickly repairs the strands to unravel the knots. If free radicals are also attacking the mitochondrial DNA, then TOP1 proteins can become trapped on the mitochondrial DNA strands, making repair even more difficult. Professor El-Khamisy believes the findings could pave the way for the development of new therapies for mitochondrial disease that boost their DNA repair capacity, or for cancer treatments which could use TDP1 inhibitors to prevent mtDNA repair selectively in cancer cells.

"Cancer relies on cells dividing very quickly. That means they need a lot of energy, so will have really healthy mitochondria," said Professor El-Khamisy.

"If we can find a way to selectively damage the mitochondria in the cancer cells, by preventing or slowing its repair mechanism, this could be really promising."

The findings could also be important for new clinical advances such as the decision by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) to allow 'mitochondrial donation' -- also known as 'three-parent babies' -- where mtDNA from a female donor is introduced to an embryo to correct mitochondrial defects.

"This research suggests that clinicians should assess the function of TDP1 and mitochondrial TOP1 before mitochondrial donation takes place, to ensure the success of this procedure," added Professor El-Khamisy.

"Even if the new embryo has healthy mitochondrial DNA from the donor, it could still have defective TDP1 or mitochondrial TOP1 from the recipient, since they are both produced by the DNA in the cell's nucleus, so mitochondrial DNA damage could still take place over time, and cause disease." Professor Allan Pacey, a fertility expert at the University of Sheffield's Department of Oncology and Metabolism, said "Given that the first UK license to perform mitochondrial donation procedures was awarded by the HFEA last month, the publication of this study is very timely.

"It is important that we know as much as possible about how to identify healthy and defective mitochondria, in order to help those people with debilitating mitochondrial disease."

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Unraveling the Mystery of DNA Attacks in Mitochondria Could Pave Way for New Cancer Treatments - Bioscience Technology

Madison Area Technical College is continuing a decades-old effort to churn out workplace-ready professionals to impact the ever-changing field of biotechnology.

Also known as Madison College, MATC offers a certificate in stem cell technologies that was created for working professionals. The 32-week nighttime program was developed in 2011 to help people enter the fields of stem cells and regenerative medicine. Since then, more than 70 people have graduated. But MATC initially launched a biotech training program in 1987.

The school receives major funding from the National Science Foundation for Academic Programs Advanced Technology Education program. Between ATE and other government grants, the school has received about $4.5 million dollars over the last 14 years to develop workforce programs.

Its stem cell program alone has netted $1.6 million, and has a placement rate in the industry of over 90 percent, says Thomas Tubon, project director for the stem cell program at MATC and member of the board of directors for BioForward, a state biotech advocacy group.

The program is split into two semesters; the first focuses on the core lab components of culturing these cells, managing media, and all the fundamentals of stem cells, according to Tubon.

The second semester involves working with industry-based advanced technology like 3D culturing, CRISPR-Cas9 genomic editing, and gene modification.

You name it -- if its on the cutting edge of our emerging industries here in Wisconsin, were trying to move it into the classroom, he said. And were trying to do that with support from our industries, and our academic folks as well.

CRISPR-Cas9 is a relatively new method. It lets scientists accurately cut and paste parts of DNA, giving them the power to determine which genes are expressed in a particular organism, and which are not. They can even introduce unique qualities from other living things.

With the advent of CRISPR/Cas9 for gene editing, this has been fairly easy to do, relatively -- to introduce mutations of interest, said Christine L. Mummery, professor of developmental biology and chair of the department of anatomy and embryology at Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands.

This method is already being used to mitigate genetic disorders in animals, and two clinical trials using CRISPR-Cas9 for targeted cancer therapies have been approved in China and the United States, according to a 2016 article in Nature.

Mummery spoke April 19 at the 12th annual Wisconsin Stem Cell Symposium in Madison on the subject of induced pluripotent stem cells. These iPSC are derived from adult cells found in skin, blood or other parts of the body, which are reprogrammed to return to an embryonic-like state. This means they can be developed into any type of human cell, which can then be used for testing.

The sort of low-hanging fruit, and the most exciting area in my opinion, is to do disease modeling, Mummery said. We can look at the underlying mechanisms of disease in humans that weve not been able to do previously as well with mice.

Mummery pointed to drug rehabilitation as another exciting avenue to pursue.

So basically, you find a drug which actually works really well that has nasty side effects, and what a chemist can do is cut off the bits of the molecule and check whether the side effects disappear or not, she said.

The iPSC models can be used to test the effectiveness of these modified drugs, but also for toxicity testing and regenerative medicine, to treat things like Parkinsons, kidney disease and diabetes.

Parkinsons disease looks to be very promising, she added.

MATC was one of the first programs in the United States doing workforce training in biotech, according to Tubon. Its initial biotech program launched in 1987, and the college has been pushing to stay on the frontline of innovation ever since.

As one of the lead programs, weve maintained that status moving forward with developing workforce programs for biotech, for bioinformatics, for stem cells -- for whatever we can project into the future, Tubon said. My assumption is its probably going to be something in the space of tissue engineering. I think thats a pretty safe bet, and well see how far we can push that envelope.

The next MATC effort funded by the NSF will be to get what weve done here, distribute it, and start it at as many colleges as we can across the United States, Tubon says.

About 137 targeted colleges are part of the schools immediate network, and Tubon estimates up to 350 colleges nationwide have the capacity to start their own stem cell workforce development program.

Were reaching out to our first level of partners to get this going, and Im doing that this summer and next summer to help them generate capacity, and then well expand out from there, he said.

--By Alex Moe WisBusiness.com

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MATC continuing effort to prepare professionals for biotech industry - Wisbusiness.com

Dr Hrishikesh D Pai is a seasoned Gynaecologist with almost 3 decades of experience in IVF and infertility management. He is the Medical Director of the Bloom IVF Group which runs nine IVF centres all over India including Lilavati Hospital and Bhatia Hospital, Mumbai and Fortis Hospitals in New Delhi, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Noida, Mohali, and Navi Mumbai. Dr Pai currently holds the position of Secretary General of the Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Societies of India, one of the largest organizations of professional doctors in the country consisting of 33,000 gynaecologists.

Dr Pai began his career after graduating with three distinctions and 2 gold medals in his MD in the year 1989 from the G.S. Medical College in Mumbai. He also has a Master of Science in Clinical Embryology and Andrology from the Eastern Virginia Medical School, USA. He went on to do a clinical fellowship from the Royal Women's Hospital in Melbourne, where the world's second test-tube baby was born. He mastered this technique only to come back and set up the first IVF centre in Mumbai in 1991. Being one of the pioneers in the field of Micromanipulation in India, his unit was the third in India to start the procedure of Micromanipulation- ICSI in 1996 in Mumbai.

Not only has he performed over 10,000 test-tube baby procedures but has also introduced many path-breaking and pioneering techniques in the field of Assisted Reproductive Technology such as assisted laser hatching, spindle view, ovarian tissue freezing for cancer patients, oocyte freezing, IMSI, and embryoscope. His clinic is one of the 10 IVF clinics in India to be recognized to offer Fellowship in super specialty of ART by the National Board, New Delhi.

As part of his teaching and academic pursuits, Dr Pai is an Asst. Adjunct Professor at East Virginia Medical School, USA; Assistant Professor at the D Y Patil Medical College; and post graduate teacher in Gynaecology at the National DNB Examinations, and has trained more than 1000 gynaecologists. He is also the Founder Editor of The Journal of Gynecological Endoscopy& Surgery. He has held many other responsible positions namely President of the Mumbai Obstetrics and Gynaecological Society; and President of the Indian Association of Gynaecological Endoscopists. Previously, Dr Pai was also the Senior Vice President of FOGSI in 2006. He has had many articles and research papers published in national and international books and journals, and has delivered more than 500 guest lectures all over India and abroad.

Dr Pai has been a key contributor to various policy-making bodies of the central and state government. He is member of the Still Birth Committee of the Ministry of Health, GOI, New Delhi 2015. Dr Pai was invited as an expert to suggest changes to the ART Bill 2013 by the ICMR, New Delhi in 2014. He was also a Member of the Committee formed by the Government of Maharashtra, to suggest changes to the ART Bill 2013 and the PCPNDT Act regarding Infertility in 2013 and 2015.

In order to enable poor patients to have access to advanced services, Dr Pai has an IVF unit in the D Y Patil Medical College. In appreciation of his enormous contributions, the international agency Frost & Sullivan bestowed upon him the best IVF group in India award in 2013. Additionally, he was elected to the highest positionin IVF the Immediate Past President of the Indian Society for Assisted Reproduction (ISAR). Dr Pai was also elected as the Member Board of Directors of the World body of Infertility namely International Federation of Fertility Societies (IFFS): a first for an Indian.

Dr Pai has been the Honorary Asst. Consultant for Kurla Municipal Hospital, serving patients for free from 1991 till 2007. Twice, he has been the Community Service Director of Rotary Club. He won the best interns prize for a vaccination programme in the Mumbai slums of Malawni. In another first of its kind in India, Dr Pai as President of the Indian Society for Assisted Reproduction had launched Project Hope. In this, poor patients below poverty line (BPL) can obtain IVF services free of charge in private clinics of ISAR members all over India.

In appreciation of the yeoman scientific, medical, and community service, Dr Pai has been the recipient of numerous awards such as the Rashtriya Ekta Award, Indian Medical Association (Mumbai West) Best Doctor Award, Navshakti Newspaper Award, Jai Hind College Alumni Award, RK Trust Award, Medscape India National Award, Lions International Gold Award, Ferticon Life Time Achievement Award, and Dr Kanal Goel National Indian Medical Association Award amongst others.

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Dr Hrishikesh D. Pai - Huffington Post India (blog)

YORK The 11 lively third-graders in Jillian Starks class received an eyes- and hands-on life lesson.

With help from York County Extension 4-H assistant Tanya Crawford and 4-H director Megan Burda, Stark and her students incubated, carefully monitored and hatched eggs in their classroom..

Embryology is a 4-H School Enrichment project taught in almost every elementary school across the state. The program is designed for grades 2-4. The Extension Office provides the incubator, eggs and educational materials.

In classroom discussions Crawford taught Starks students about eggs and the birds from tiny to very large - that lay them. They also found homes for the newly-hatched chicks.

Once Stark took up the Extension offer and signed on, Crawford came to class to introduce the project and then visited again with Burda to candle the eggs.

Students of all ages, Crawford said, enjoy taking care of eggs and anticipating the arrival of baby chicks.

We learn about the similarities and differences between chickens, as well as study the development of life. The program usually starts in March or April. I would love to bring embryology to your classroom, Crawford wrote in an earlier invitation to local teachers.

Embryology ran for 21 days during which time Stark and her students carefully checked temperatures in the hatching container and filled water to last over the weekends.

In the past, I have done up to three visits in the classroom (one per week), Crawford said, to deliver the following curriculum:

Lesson 1 introduce embryology and deliver eggs

Lesson 2 talk about egg development and candle the eggs

Lesson 3 talk about brooding and share egg collection

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The eggs for Starks class came from Clare Quandt from Stromsburg and Jill and Ryan Koch from York.

For her part, Stark said, I decided to take on the embryology project because I thought it would be a great way for the students to learn about eggs and their connection to agriculture. The 4-H Extension office brought the supplies, including the incubator and the 24 eggs. After seven days the students candled the eggs to see if they were fertilized. After 14 days the students candled them again to check on their growth, she said.

By day 20 the eggs had begun to hatch.

The Extension Office then provided the necessary supplies to keep the chicks in the classroom for a few days, she explained.

The students have been really engaged throughout the whole process, she added. They were excited to watch the (chicks) hatch from the egg and hold them after the feathers had dried. Not only are they learning about science behind the chick, but they are also learning about the responsibility that comes along with having a pet. The experience has been great overall and I cant wait for next year.

Teachers of grades 2-4 are invited to contact Crawford about bringing the project to their classrooms, too.

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Embryology in action - York News-Times

As part of the Nebraska Extension School Enrichment Program, elementary students in Hall County are learning lessons on where the food on their plates comes from.

Hall County Extension assistant Melinda Vlieger is in her fourth year of conducting an embryology project with local schools. On Thursday, she was at Newell Elementary and Shoemaker Elementary candling eggs with kindergrtners.

Vlieger said the four-week program is designed to teach students the life cycle of a baby chick from the time the mother hen lays her egg to the time the egg hatches, which occurs in around 21 days.

The eggs Vlieger was candling with students on Thursday were laid 10 days prior. Through the candling process, the students could see the living embryo as the chick develops inside the egg.

Throughout the project, Vlieger said, the students are in charge of taking care of the eggs. Depending of the school, every classroom gets an incubator for which she provides 18 fertilized eggs.

"It is their job to take care of the eggs as they grow and incubate into chicks," Vlieger said.

Vlieger said the embryology program has grown during the four years she has conducted it in Hall County schools. This year, its in 10 schools, reaching 45 different classes.

"It has grown every year since I started it, and this is the biggest year so far," Vlieger said.

During the eggs time in the incubator, the temperature is kept at about 100 degrees, and the eggs are turned up until several days before they hatch so the embryos dont stick to the egg shell while developing. The yolk and the egg white in the egg provide the developing chick nourishment and fluid.

When candling, Vlieger brings a bright light from an old slide project and holds the eggs up to the light. The children can see the developing chick move around, reacting to the brightness of the light.

"It is kind of like an X-ray almost for the egg," she said. "We can see the shadow and the blood vessels and air pocket in the egg. We also talk about how some of the eggs might not be growing. That it is just part of nature, and everything doesnt always survive. That helps reinforce the life cycle and helps them understand nature."

When Vlieger held each egg before the bright light, she told the students to determine whether the egg fell into one of three categories: a yolker, an egg that hadnt developed at all; a quitter, an egg that began to develop but stopped; or a winner, an egg that is continuing to develop.

Vlieger spoke to four kindergarten classes on Thursday at Newell. At her first stop, of the 18 eggs examined, 12 fell into the winner category, five were yolkers, and there was one quitter.

Vlieger told the students that, while there were 12 winners, that doesnt necessarily mean there will be 12 baby chicks. Some may stop their development during the remaining 11 days before they hatch.

She told the students that science doesnt really have an answer why those chicks stop their development in the egg.

Vlieger also explained the struggle the baby chicks go through as they begin breaking out of their egg. She said the chicks use a special tooth on their beak, especially designed during their evolution, to break out of their shell, which could take as much as an entire day. Once the chick is out of the egg, that beak tooth falls off.

Vlieger told the students what to expect when the eggs hatch and once the chicks escape the confines of their shells. The chicks, she said, will be wet and exhausted from the rigors of breaking out of their shells. They will rest and dry out and will have enough nourishment and fluids from the egg to survive for three days before taking their first food.

The program is designed from students from kindergarten through sixth grade. At each grade level, she said, the program teaches a different aspect of embryology.

"It is for them to learn about where their food comes from and where the eggs come from," Vlieger said. "These eggs come from a farm, and they look just like the eggs that come from a store."

In March, according to the U.S. Department of Agricultures National Agricultural Statistics Service, all laying hens in Nebraska totaled 8.42 million, which was down from 8.74 million the previous year. However, March egg production per 100 layers was 2,675 eggs, compared to 2,511 eggs in 2016.

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Extension program brings life lessons to classrooms - Grand Island Independent

Its clinical director, Professor Mary Wingfield, has brushed aside fears that treatments like IVF won't be allowed there due to its ownership by a religious order.

Instead she argued that the move by the Merrion Fertility Clinic will "benefit our patients".

The clinic - where NMH master Rhona Mahony is a voluntary director - is currently based on Lower Mount Street, and pays rent to the NMH next door.

It provides services like IVF to couples who are having difficulty conceiving - both public and private patients.

Concern has been raised by former NMH master Dr Peter Boylan that IVF treatment may not be permitted at the planned St Vincent's hospital site as it's owned by the Sisters of Charity.

The Catholic Church is against IVF treatment.

Dr Mahony has rejected Dr Boylan's concern, repeatedly insisting the new hospital will have "clinical independence".

Meanwhile, a senior source with knowledge of the project pointed to the provision of assisted conception facilities in the hospitals plans. They said this highlights the "absolute independence" of the hospital to provide services to women, despite arguments made to the contrary in recent days.

Architects' drawings for the new hospital show that fertility services are to be located on the first floor, which accommodates a 'reproductive medicine facility'.

This includes a 'cryo store' and 'embryology lab' and several procedure suites.

It is unclear what space at the hospital, if any, will be set aside specifically for Merrion Fertility Clinic.

The Department of Health appeared unaware the clinic would be moving there when first asked if it would be.

But a statement from Merrion Fertility Clinic confirmed it "will be moving to St Vincent's as part of the National Maternity Hospital Project". It said the "finer details" are under consideration and won't be finalised for some time.

Prof Wingfield said their "close affiliation" with the NMH will continue at the new site.

The Irish Independent asked if there is concern services the clinic currently offers won't be permitted at the St Vincent's site.

Prof Wingfield said the clinic "follows international guidelines for best practice in gynaecological and infertility care. This will not change when the NMH, including its fertility services, moves."

She added: "The enhanced facilities at the new hospital will, in fact, benefit our patients."

She said that the clinic will "continue to advocate for increased Government support for public funding for assisted reproduction services and for the urgent need for national legislation in this area."

The Department of Health said no provision has been made in the new hospital's design for the Merrion Fertility Clinic. Asked if the department was unaware that the clinic planned to move there, a spokesman later said there's an area for assisted conception. But he added: "It is not possible at this early stage to answer detailed questions regarding the operation of the new hospital."

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IVF clinic has hospital space despite ethos clash - Independent.ie - Irish Independent

A New York fertility clinicis holding acontest forfree in vitro fertilization ababy raffle, if you will. Its like the lottery, only insteadof winning a million bucks, 30winnerswillget the chanceata real,live genetically relatedhuman baby.In a dystopian flourish, theirnameswill be announced on Facebook Live for the world to see.

The contestis open to women under the age of 44 who have been referred for IVF and have never been to New Hope Fertility Center.The cost of a single IVF cycle typically costs around $12,000 to $15,000, so thetotal value of the prizeson offer is at least$36,000.

New Hope says the contest isbeing held to mark National Infertility Awareness Week, which began this week. The aim, says a press release, is to spread awareness about this growing epidemic and encourage open discussions about infertility and how it affects people around the country.

Of course, its also a great way to drum up national and even international publicity for the clinic, which wasfounded by Dr. John Zhang, who is no stranger to the spotlight. He made headlines this yearfor using a controversial technique tocreate the worlds first three-parent baby and, before that, for facilitatingthe oldest in-vitro pregnancy.

But he isnt the first to conceive of this baby lottery idea. The UK charity To Hatch held a similar lottery in 2011, only it (incredibly) charged people$25to enter the contest. The schemedrew intense controversy, with critics alleging that it exploited the vulnerability of couples struggling with infertility. As a spokesperson for The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, a clinic regulator,told The Independent,We are strongly of the view that using IVF as prize in a lottery is wrong and entirely inappropriate. It trivializes what is for many people a central part of their lives.

At least in this case, women dont needto buyalottery ticket but the winners will have to pay thecost of participating in the clinics social media stunt.The lottery will be drawnon May 5th at 2p.m. during thelive Facebook event.

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New York Fertility Clinic Holds Baby 'Lottery' - Vocativ - Vocativ

Dr. Thomas Kwasigroch will be the speaker during the 10 a.m. ceremony, and Janet Ayers will deliver the 2 p.m. address.

Kwasigroch is associate dean of ETSUs Quillen College of Medicine and a professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, directing studies in medical and human anatomy and embryology. He is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Physical Therapy in ETSUs College of Clinical and Rehabilitative Health Sciences.

Kwasigroch joined the faculty of the Quillen College of Medicine at its inception in 1979 and has taught every graduate of the college since that time. He is the most awarded faculty member at the medical school, having received more than 50 awards. Among these are numerous Professor of the Year honors at Quillen and Gender Equity Awards from the American Medical Womens Association. He was recognized nationally as a McCann Scholar for Excellence in Mentoring and Teaching in 2005 and as the 2015 recipient of the Alpha Omega Alpha Robert J. Glaser Distinguished Teacher Award from the American Association of Medical Colleges.

Kwasigroch served with the 6th Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and as a first lieutenant, infantry platoon leader, company executive officer and battalion liaison officer in Vietnam, where he was awarded the Purple Heart, Bronze Star and Army Commendation Medal.

He holds a B.S. degree from Niagara University and a Ph.D. in anatomy and embryology from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Freie Universitt-Berlin in Germany.

After receiving her bachelors degree in health care administration from ETSU in 1986, Ayers began her career as the administrator of Four Oaks Health Care Center in Jonesborough, where she remained for five years. She then assumed the administrator position at Erwin Health Care, where she remained for 15 years.

During her career as an administrator, Ayers was an active member of the Tennessee Health Care Association and received awards for distinguished professional and association service. She also served as commissioner of the Tennessee Health Facilities Commission for five years.

In 2007, Ayers became president of The Ayers Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for the people of Tennessee with a special emphasis on Decatur, Henderson, Perry and Unicoi counties. The foundation believes this is best accomplished by providing grants for scholarships, counselors, programs and related projects for educational enhancement and innovative health care, and by supporting organizations dedicated to the preservation of natural resources and wildlife habitats for hunting and fishing.

Ayers, who resides in Nashville, is a member of the new ETSU Board of Trustees.

Complete information on commencement for graduating students and the public is available online at http://www.etsu.edu/reg/graduation/ceremony.php.

Individuals participating in or attending the 10 a.m. ceremony are advised to avoid State of Franklin Road in downtown Johnson City between East Main Street and Watauga Avenue, because this major artery and parts of the historic Tree Streets district will be closed for a road race.

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2000+ set to graduate from ETSU this spring - Johnson City Press (subscription)

Lauren Rhoda, president of the Saints for Life club at Carroll College, outlines her thoughts on the pro-life movement. "I think a cultural focus shift towards loving life and celebrating it will help a lot of other things fall into place," she said. TRIBUNE VIDEO/JULIA MOSS

Lauren Rhoda doesnt back down from her beliefs.

She is a modern crusader for the pro-life movement and lives a life devoted to maintaining the ideals of the cause.

But Rhoda is not an abortion-focused protester picketing outside clinics. She is not angry. Rhoda does not admonish or judge women who get abortions. In fact, she loves them unequivocally.

Lauren Rhoda is not your fathers pro-life advocate.

Lauren Rhoda believes that pro-life is about the whole life. Its about the whole person and making sure that everyone knows they are cared for and loved. (Photo: TRIBUNE PHOTO/JULIA MOSS)

The entirety of the 22-year-old Carroll College students belief system is rooted in science, from her activism for life to her Catholic faith. The Colorado-native brings an unwavering smile and brightness to her efforts.

She is a human sunflower sowing Helena in positive energy and love.

Rhoda is a chemistry major and the president of the Saints for Life club. She leads the group in activities that promote its mission statement: to protect and advocate for life from conception to natural death.

This entails spending hours offering support and prayer outside the local Planned Parenthood, but also includes volunteering with the elderly at the nursing center, hosting human-trafficking awareness and prayer vigils and advocating for the environment.

Its not just about abortion, Rhoda said. How can we advocate for a pro-life ethic if we are not loving those and caring for those that are already alive and already with us and suffering among us?

Through their association with the national Students for Life of America group, Rhoda and her fellow club members hosted an informational immigration display earlier in the semester to give Carroll students the opportunity to read through and understand President Donald Trumps immigration policies and what they mean.

The Saints for Life provided students tools to write letters to their state representatives to speak out against the immigration plan if they chose to do so. More than 150 letters were written in three hours.

Saints for Life member Marko Prizmic said some students were apprehensive about the motives of the display after realizing who was hosting it.

When the group attended the Womens March on Jan. 21, Prizmic said the group was largely met with support. However, a limited few still brandished their middle fingers as they passed by.

The group attributes it to a misunderstanding of its cause.

Pro-life is often associated with staunch religion and the more conservative side of the political spectrum, but Rhoda said the true essence of the movement doesnt assign itself to a specific party or faith, and the rest of the Saints for Life agree.

Saints for Life members, left to right, Cordell Andersen, Mary Leslie, Lauren Rhoda and Marko Prizmic meet to discuss club positions at Carroll College on March 23. Saints for Life focuses on abortion, but tackles a host of other pro-life topics, including environmental issues and immigration. Were consistent all the way through across issues Prizmic said. We carry over the idea of dignity for everyone. Theres a focus on abortion because it affects so many. (Photo: TRIBUNE PHOTO/JULIA MOSS)

Were consistent all the way through across issues, Prizmic said. We carry over the idea of dignity for everyone. Theres a focus on abortion because it affects so many.

That can make the voting booth a difficult place.

Transgender teen an ambassador for the LGBTQ community

We dont take a purely conservative stance, and we dont take a liberal stance either, Rhoda said. We live in a country where the political climate is very hot right now, unfortunately. I believe that our country was founded on the principles laid out in the Declaration of Independence life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Principle among these is life, so I do very much vote with that in mind.

Rhodas love for life in all of its stages is genuine, and she beams as she talks about her Saturdays spent in the local nursing home, the Rocky Mountain Care Center. Every weekend, she visits the older women to hang out, talk to them, be there for them and paint their nails.

Its just one of the most wonderful things in the world, Rhoda said. One time I was painting this elderly womans nails, her name is Agnes, and she leaned in and gave me a kiss on the forehead. It was so sweet, and I mean thats why we do what we do. Pro-life is about the whole life, and its about the whole person and making sure everyone is cared for and loved and knows that.

Though Rhodas focus isnt solely concentrated on abortion, that facet of the movement is still what brought her into the fold. She remembers having an epiphany in high school that changed her life.

I was taking this biology class of all things, AP biology, and it was in public school, Rhoda said. We were studying embryology and I realized that, biologically speaking, life begins at conception when that sperm meets that egg so I realized there is this inconsistency in the way I was thinking. I couldnt deny these embryos life because they technically were certainly alive in the biological sense.

Lauren Rhoda completes a lab assignment as part of her major in chemistry at Carroll College on March 23. (Photo: TRIBUNE PHOTO/JULIA MOSS)

Her new-found belief system didnt jump the gap from pro-choice to pro-life, instead Rhoda said she lived her life with a barrier between her and the issue of abortion. She was never for it, but figured it wasnt her business, and so she didnt think about it.

Rhoda said she has always been passionate about advocating for the marginalized, and her personal scientific breakthrough brought the most basic form of human life into her main area of focus. She said this is when she committed herself to being pro-life and began to learn more and more about what that would mean for her.

Like most things in her life, Rhoda said it meant continuing her pro-science ethic.

Biologically speaking, life begins at conception, she continued; there is not a more solid point to define the start of life.

Rhoda poses several questions about the issue.

What constitutes a living, human? Is it the environment in the womb versus out? Is it at 40 weeks? What about babies who gestate past their due date? Is it when they have brain waves? That doesnt happen at the exact same time for all babies. Is a baby defined as less of a person because it is developing slower?

It makes it too arbitrary, Rhoda said. The most definite line we can use is just the moment of conception.

Rhoda speaks in absolutes. Life begins at conception. Abortion is the killing of an unborn child. There are no gray areas.

But love and compassion should prevail. There are no gray areas there either.

She assesses women who opt to abort not as bad people, but as people in difficult situations who deserve comfort and support. Rhoda wants to meet scared, unsure pregnant women where theyre at and offer them comfort and alternatives. Should a woman decide to go ahead with an abortion, Rhoda said it is then even more critical to be there for her, help her heal and not look down on her for the decision she has made.

I wish, in an ideal world, that it wasnt thinkable, Rhoda said. I wish for people to never feel that pressure. Maybe their immediate gut reaction is, Oh no, Im 16, and Im pregnant. How am I going to do this? I think it would be really empowering to let women know that they can do it and there are more options. There needs to be a societal reform wherein mothers are embraced and supported by the community.

Lauren Rhoda advocates for pro-life issues through her position as president of the Saints for Life club at Carroll College. (Photo: TRIBUNE PHOTO/JULIA MOSS)

As she sits in a monthly Saints for Life meeting, she and her friends demolish a few pizzas and talk about whats going on in their lives. They discuss inspiring pro-life lectures theyve attended and opportunities to learn more about the cause and what they can do.

Rhoda is not alone in her all-encompassing love for life. She is merely one face in the new pro-life generation.

We want to create an environment where abortion is not needed, Prizmic said. We need to give support so that she doesnt need to make that choice. We need to take care of her and respect her. I will never know what shes going through, but I know I love her.

Through their charity and demeanor, the group is actively changing the pro-life movement.

I know in the 80s, they would bar doors, bomb clinics, kill doctors thats not pro-life, Prizmic said. That part is small now, but it still exists.

Mary Leslie, another Saints for Life member, nods in agreement. Though she isnt a Carroll student, she still jokes that she goes to Carroll because she technically is going there ... for the pro-life club meetings.

The answer to violence isnt more violence, Leslie said.

There is a lingering distrust of pro-life advocates who stand outside Planned Parenthood, despite the good intent of the Saints for Life.

Sometimes theyre kind, but its obvious theyre told not to talk to us, Leslie said. They know well be there, and theyre told not to respond. But some do ask questions. We let them know that no matter what, its OK and theyre still loved.

She, too, is a joyful human with a big smile and love to spare. Leslie finds encouragement through her faith, but said her involvement in the pro-life movement has nothing to do with religion.

Even if I walked away from the church, Id still be pro-life, Leslie said.

Though Rhoda does hang out in pro-life circles, she has several pro-choice friends and believes each side has a lot to learn from the other.

Though she is in disagreement with their stance, Rhoda said she can empathize with the passion her pro-choice friends have in supported a womans right to choose and ardent belief that she cannot be told what to do with her own body.

That is something, Rhoda said. Thats true. You cant force someone to do something. You can just hope that theyll want to and you have to make it possible for that to happen and make room for that to happen.

A flower crown hangs before a print of Michelangelos Creation of Adam in Lauren Rhodas room. (Photo: TRIBUNE PHOTO/JULIA MOSS)

Rhoda always goes back to love and support.

She has a friend back in Colorado who was sexually assaulted and became pregnant as a result. Her friend chose to keep the child, though it was a difficult decision. Rhoda said she was there for her throughout the decision, to comfort her.

Similarly, if I had a friend who chose to have an abortion, itd be my job to support her and love her, not necessarily support the abortion, but say Im here for you no matter what, Rhoda said. Thats all you can do. An especially if she has an abortion, shell probably be hurting after that.

Rhoda is ready to make allowances for unsure pregnant women who are grappling with this heavy decision.

But dont forget, Rhoda is anti-abortion. She supports all women, but she is vehemently against the organization seemingly synonymous with abortion: Planned Parenthood.

Her seemingly permanent smile quickly drops. She sits forward in her seat. Her words lose their softness and become sharp.

I think Planned Parenthood is a fundamentally corrupt organization, Rhoda said.

She cites Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, and her involvement in the eugenics movement of the 1900s and the convoluted argument that the birth control clinics were part of a larger racist agenda.

There is no question that Sanger was a eugenicist but several studies into her writings have refuted the idea that she was trying to weed out the black population. However, this idea has remained a prevalent talking point for many pro-life organizations.

In 2001, Herman Cain, a Republican from Georgia who made a run for the presidency, said Sanger started Planned Parenthood, the objective was to put these centers in primarily black communities so they could help kill black babies before they came into the world.

Then, in 2015, Ben Carson, now the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, said Sanger believed people like me should be eliminated, or kept under control. He later clarified that people like me referred to the black population.

Much of this claim comes from a Dec. 10, 1939, letter penned to Clarence Gamble by Sanger in which she said, We do not want word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population and the minister is the man who can straighten out that idea if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members."

However, the sentence is often taken out of context. The rest of the correspondence indicates Sanger was saying she didnt want misinformation to go out. Instead, Sanger was developing a public health venture, called the Negro Project, for underprivileged black communities.

But this point is still heavily contested by anti-abortion advocates.

Anti-abortion lawmaker wants voters to define person

I dont think anything good can come from an organization like that, Rhoda said. I also believe theyve been caught in a few lies, and thats important to focus on. Such as when they were selling parts of aborted fetuses or such as when they claim to offer mammograms, and they actually dont.

Rhoda said, in her eyes, the good they do doesnt outweigh the bad, and there are other low-income options for men and women.

I believe that the funds being allocated toward Planned Parenthood ought to be allocated more toward the federally qualified health care centers, Rhoda said. And yes, while I agree that they do offer health care services if you knew that your dry cleaner, for instance, they were actually running a meth lab in the back, should you still support them?

Rhoda is soft, but she is strong. She knows what she believes and she sticks to it.

In late January, she traveled to San Francisco to participate in the Walk for Life. Reminiscing on the experience coaxes her signature smile back out. As she talks about the walk, her mind is back in California.

She was surprised by the diversity of those in attendance. She held her I am the pro-life generation sign and marched with the young and the old of different creeds and races. The flip-side of her poster had the same message, but in Spanish.

Yo soy la generacion provida.

I thought it was just amazing to see everyone coming together to support this and to advocate for the most vulnerable among those who dont have a voice, Rhoda said. It was just a really joyful gathering in the midst of San Francisco overall it was just, it was a very joyful experience.

She beams.

The camaraderie, the love, the support thats what its all about for Rhoda. That is what it means to be pro-life to her.

I hope that for all the pro-life people in the movement that it comes from a place of love and just caring, she said.

Follow Sarah Dettmer on Twitter @GFTrib_SDettmer

More from the Arbiters of Change series

This story is the second installment of the Arbiters of Change series describing efforts made by progressive and conservative young people to enact change in their community. The next installment will feature local young professionals involved in the Great Falls Rising political activism group for local progressives.

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Arbiters of Change: The new pro-life generation - Great Falls Tribune - Great Falls Tribune