Should we be surprised? Regulation of science and research by Institutional Review Boards and so-called Ethics Committees is repressive. In Suffocating Science Harms Everyone, the author describes the vast scope of the problem, which spans almost every field of inquiry. He cites several examples that can only be described as perverse. These well-meaning regulators are averse to controversial research outcomes and unwisely attempt to eliminate all risk. In the process, they subject all of us to costly unintended consequences. The regulators sap funds from donors in their effort to protect the world from research. “If you make a gift to breast cancer research, about 10% of that will go to a bureaucratic system that too often delays and damages the research you are supporting.”

The blog Suffocated Science and Scholarship is devoted to raising awareness and finding solutions to this problem.