The WaPo reports on the congressional skirmish about to break over "the contentious question of whether the government should issue patents on human embryos or medical products that come from them." The massive U.S. Appropriations bill currently includes language that would bar the U.S. Patent Office from issuing patents on human embryos. From the story:

"If patents on human embryos are allowed, then biotech companies will market babies with certain traits just like Perdue markets chicken or Ford markets sport-utility vehicles," Lori B. Andrews, a law professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law, editorialized recently in the Chicago Tribune.