To: CharleyMike who wrote (1159 ) 7/20/1998 1:33:00 PM From: Janice Shell Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 4028
Thank you, Charles. A very interesting article indeed. I wonder why no one has seen fit to comment on it. Let's hit some of the salient points once again, for those who didn't click on the URL:Malcolm Skolnick, Ph.D., J.D., Director of the Office of Technology Management of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, who is also named in CSI's "fact sheet" as "helping [to] direct [research] activities," was unaware that the company had initiated promotional efforts. Skolnick also denied that he had given CSI permission to use his name and said that his role had been limited to some discussions with representatives of the firm concerning its possible financial support of basic cryogenic research. He also agreed that the technology suggested by the company was not at all likely to be feasible within the lifetime, let alone the reproductive lifetime, of any of the company's prospective clients. "It's four to eight orders of magnitude beyond" current technology, said Skolnick. Dr. Fuller Bazer was also taken by surprise on learning of CSI's claims. He denied that he was associated in any way with the sort of research effort mentioned in the company's literature. An attorney for Texas A&M subsequently wrote to demand that CSI cease using Dr. Bazer's name and that of the university in its materials. It is questionable, to say the least, as to what CSI is actually up to, as it seems doubtful that any intelligent and informed person could seriously offer "pregnancy suspension" services. The company address which appears in the promotional materials sent out also happens to be a mail drop. But perhaps one clue is offered by a statement in CSI's "fact sheet" which asserts that "anti-abortion advocates . . . would consider withdrawing active opposition to those clinics and physicians offering cryogenic suspension." I think this all speaks rather eloquently to the question of the credibility (or lack of it) of the company. Those of you who've read the "history" page at the CSI website will learn not that the frozen embryo idea didn't work, but that research was halted because of objections on the part of anti-abortion activists. And there is of course no reference to any objections made by the people cited above.