Government regulations intrude on freedom and waste money in almost every aspect of life. President Trump has said that he intends to cut out needless regulations, and maybe he’ll succeed in that.

How about academic research? In today’s Martin Center article, Russell Warne argues that federal regulations there should be axed.

He writes:

Scientists are also burdened by regulations that add costs and increase delays. The most important regulation for science is 45 CFR 46, which governs ethical approval of human-subjects research. It is known as the “Common Rule” because 20 government agencies have agreed to be governed by the regulation. This Rule is a worthy target for the new administration’s deregulation efforts because the Rule adds to the cost of scientific progress, delays research projects, and is probably unconstitutional, to boot.

The big problem, Warne observes, is the way Institutional Review Boards can obstruct researchers over and over again. Compliance costs a huge amount every year. IRB review is supposedly necessary to prevent harm to subjects, but they often stretch the concept of harm to absurd lengths.

Read the whole thing.