Stem Cells

Stem Cell Policy Differs From Country To Country

Because stem cell research involves ethical questions in some cases, most countries have policies concerning this research. These policies are intended to control and limit the type and amount of research that can be legally done. Moreover, in the United States and other countries, the policies limit the type of research that can be done using funding from the government.

Stem cell research became a concern when, in 1998, a biologist from the University of Wisconsin, Dr. James A. Thomson, isolated stem cells in human embryos. These embryonic stem cells are taken from embryos that are a couple of days old. What is important about embryonic stem cells is that they can turn into any type of cell in the human body. Another important aspect of embryonic stem cells is that they replicate easily.

The problem with embryonic stem cells is the way they are currently obtained. The embryo is destroyed, which raises moral and ethical questions. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funds most of the biomedical research sponsored by the government. In 1995, Congress placed a ban on research using human embryos.

After extensive research, the Department of Health and Human Services said in 1999 that human embryonic stem cell research can be conducted if the cells are obtained using money from the private sector. This was followed by new guidelines by NIH that same year. These guidelines said that some research on human embryonic steam cells could be federally funded if closely monitored

President Bush made it clear as early as 2000 that he opposed human embryonic stem cell research. He feels scientists should find other means to utilize. Once in office, scientists expected him to overturn the guidelines set up by NIH in 1999. As predicted, in August of 2001, President Bush announced that federal funds used for human embryonic stem cell research could only be used on stem cells that already existed.

The President's reasoning was that the embryos used for these stem cells had already been destroyed. At this point, as long as no other embryos were destroyed, the research could progress. At the time of Bush's decision, the NIH had determined that 64 cell lines existed throughout the world. A cell line is created when an embryonic stem cell replicates itself indefinitely. This replication creates a cell line.

A battle has waged in the years since 2001. As more scientists maintain that some of the stem cell lines they were allowed to use weren't actually usable, new legislation was introduced. In 2004, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act was sponsored in an attempt to increase the support given by the federal government for research on human embryonic stem cells. The bill would have allowed stem cells to be obtained from embryos that were from in vitro fertilization clinics. These embryos would be donated and would have otherwise have been destroyed.

This Act was introduced in 2005, but when it finally reached President, he vetoed it. The legislation was again introduced in 2007, and again, President Bush vetoed it, insisting that alternate methods be found for locating stem cells. Currently, the proponents for federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research are waiting to see who gets elected in 2008. Until that time, the options are to use the stem cell lines that existed in 2001 or to use private sector money for research.