Bought & Paid For

Below are some key excerpts from an article about a current issue in Australia:

Babies with a severe form of epilepsy risk having their diagnosis delayed and their treatment compromised because of a company's patent on a key gene. It is the first evidence that private intellectual property rights over human DNA are adversely affecting medical care.

The situation comes amid growing concern among doctors and medical researchers over the ethics of granting private ownership to human DNA. A Senate inquiry announced this month will investigate the effects of gene patenting on health-care.

Mervyn Jacobson, a founding director of [Genetic Technologies], said, "The question is, are public hospitals allowed to break the law and breach patents granted by the Australian Government?"

While in principle the company would insist on its rights, in practice it would be prepared to negotiate, he said. "We don't need to necessarily enforce them against publicly funded institutions."

Read Entire Article: Sick babies denied treatment in DNA row

If you think that this kind of thing can't happen in the U.S., you're dead wrong. We're moving into a "Global Society" that will be governed by "international law", remember? And even though U.S. companies may not be excercising rights over patented human DNA at the moment, they are - and have been for years - excercising their rights over patented seeds. Don't believe it? Do a little searching & digging on "Percy Schmeiser" and/or "Monsanto", but be prepared; it's a deep well.

Just because we don't know what's going on doesn't mean that it isn't happening.