PRISONERS AS LAB RATS?
Up until 25 or 30 years ago, nearly all pharmaceutical products were tested on prison inmates. But after a string of abuses and scandals in which prisoners were exposed to radioactive, hallucinogenic and carcinogenic chemicals, the prison testing was shut down. Now a new influential panel of medical advisors wants to start the testing again, but with what the panel feels are fail-safe regulations to protect from the old abuses. Critics worry that the protections will become watered down if the proposal becomes law. It’s a complex topic resistant to oversimplification, so stay tuned. IAN URBINA for the New York Times