Barack Obama and Stem Cell Research

 From the moment that scientists isolated human stem cells in November of 1998, this emerging field of medicine has been rife with controversy. The discussion largely mirrors the ethical debate over abortion.

The federal government, through research grants offered mainly by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), makes vast public resources available for biomedical research. Federal funding is available, however, only so long as research recipients abide by ethically based rules and regulations mandated by federal policy makers.

In 1996, before any federal funding proposal was approved by the NIH, language was attached to the 1996 Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Act that prohibited the use of any federal funds for research that destroys or seriously endangers human embryos. This provision is known as the Dickey Amendment.  This Amendment has been attached to the Department of Health and Human Services’ appropriations bill annually since 1996.

On August 9, 2001, President Bush issued his own federal funding policy respecting embryonic stem cell research. President Bush decided to prohibit federal funding for research on human embryonic stem cell lines not in existence as of August 9, 2001.

President Bush’s federal funding policy on human embryonic stem cell research limited federal funding to research on existing stem cell lines derived with the informed consent of the donors and from excess embryos created solely for reproductive purposes and received without any financial inducements to the donors.  Furthermore, the NIH was tasked with compiling a stem cell registry of the stem cell lines meeting President Bush’s qualifications for federal funding.

In response to President Bush’s restrictive federal funding policy, Congress has attempted to pass more liberal human embryonic stem cell research funding legislation. However, President Bush vetoed the only two attempts that have successfully passed both houses of Congress. On January 3, 2006, Congressional sponsors introduced the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005 (Act), which provided federal funding for research on human embryonic stem cells regardless of the date on which they were derived from a human embryo, but maintained the donation requirements of President Bush’s policy. After the Act passed both houses of Congress on July 18, 2006, President Bush utilized the presidential veto power for the first time on July 19, 2006, to return the Act to Congress without his approval.

Attempting once again to ease federal funding restrictions on human embryonic stem cell research, Congress introduced the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007 on January 4, 2007.  The bill passed both houses of Congress on June 7, 2007.  Once again, President Bush vetoed the legislation.

In his inaugural address, President Obama stated, “[w]e will restore science to its rightful place….”  One can’t help but speculate about whether this applies to federal funding of stem cell research.  During his campaign, Obama promised to “advance stem cell research” by reversing the Bush administration’s ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.

Given the current lack of liquidity in the credit markets coupled with the economic recession, federal funding may prove to be invaluable in fully realizing the potential for medical breakthroughs utilizing stem cell therapy.  Researchers believe that stem cell therapy has the potential to revolutionize the treatment of human disease.  Stem cell therapy is already utilized in the treatment of leukemia and is anticipated to lead to new treatments for a multitude of diseases or injuries, including Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injuries, cancer, and diabetes.