In fairness to Schwarzenegger, it would have been hard for him not to sign the bill outlawing mandatory implants – the PR consequences of such a move might have been disastrous.  So much of the blame lies with Senator Joe Simitian, who authored the piece of legislation, and apparently feels that RFID implants pose some sort of clear and present danger in modern-day America.

“RFID technology is not, in and of itself, the issue. RFID is a minor miracle, with all sorts of good uses,” Simitian stated about a year ago.  “But we cannot and should not condone forced ‘tagging’ of humans.  It’s the ultimate invasion of privacy.”

And a certain senator is a master of the obvious.  Also, now seems like a good time to point out that someone (whether it was Simitian or another supporter of the bill, I can’t say) misspelled “governor” in the relevant press release’s title.  Brilliant.

At least Simitian’s bill-turned-law won’t do any harm.  It just doesn’t seem like a necessary piece of legislation.

The same panel a day earlier rejected the company’s application.

An article at Boston.com says:

Yesterday’s vote, occurring after the same panel rejected the application of Inamed Corp. by a 5 to 4 vote, gives the FDA a mixed recommendation as it grapples with the future of implants, used for breast enlargement and reconstructive surgery.

In 2003, the agency rejected an earlier advisory panel’s recommendation to allow general use of silicone gel implants, and it now has 90 days to decide whether to approve one company’s device, both companies’ implants, or none.

”We’re very gratified that the panel came to the decision they did and hopeful the agency will focus on the same things — the quality of our science and the quality of our data on safety and efficacy,” said Mentor president and CEO Joshua Levine. ”I think the panel concluded that not all breast implants are created equally and not all test methods are created equally.”

The decision made by the panel has been criticized by public interest groups.

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