Seizure

Senator Ashley Butler is a quintessential demagogue whosesupport of traditional American values includes a knee-jerk reaction againstvirtually all biotechnologies. When he is called on the chair a sub-committeeintroducing legislation to ban new cloning technology, the senator views it as akeystone to his political future. As a consequence, Dr. Daniel Lowell - inventorof a technique that will take stem-cell research up to the next level - sees abarrier being raised before his biotech start-up. These seemingly oppositepersonalities may clash during the Senate hearing, yet the two men share acommon failing. Butler's hunger for political power far outstrips his genuineconcern for the unborn; while Lowell's pursuit of massive personal wealth andcelebrity overrides any real consideration for his patient's well-being. Furthercomplicating their confrontation is the confidential news that Senator Butlerhas developed Parkinson's disease - which leads the senator and the researcherinto a Faustian pact. Taken straightout of tomorrow's headlines, Seizure is cautionary tale for this agewhen new biotechnological discoveries are pulling us ever further into apromising yet frightening new world.