The controversy over embryonic stem cell research lead President Bush to limit federally funded human embryonic stem cell research to the sixty-four existing cell lines, which he announced on August 9th. Intended to allow publicly funded research to proceed without the use of human embryos, this decision is likely to have an immense impact on stem cell research. Many questions loom about the efficacy of President Bush's decision and its consequences on future medical research.
The proponents of federal funding for embryonic stem cell research expressed concerns that President Bush's policy will hamper the ability of researchers to conduct meaningful research by limiting them to the use of an insignificant number of developed stem cells. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson has acknowledged that just twenty-four or twenty-five of the sixty-four lines exist but has said more lines will be developed by the time federal grants are issued next year. Researchers also question if the sixty-four stem cell lines, even if all were developed, will be enough. Also, they question if the federally funded stem cell lines will remain usable since embryonic stem cells tend to accumulate mutations the longer they live in laboratory dishes.
The limited number of federally funded stem cells has increased the amount of privatized stem cell research. Many researchers warn that limited federal financing will shift the bulk of the research to private companies whose chief goal will be profits and not discoveries in human development and medical treatment. Privatization could also curtail research efforts at universities depending on federal dollars to research stem cells.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may also object to the use of federally funded stem cells in future medical treatments. Most, if not all, of the cell lines eligible for federal research were combined with embryonic mouse cells during the derivation process. Mouse cells are typically used in the derivation process as "feeders" to aid the growth of human stem cells and keep them from differentiating. This contact between animal cells and cells proposed for human implantation violates FDA regulations that prevent the spread of diseases of animals into humans.
President Bush's plan has also curtailed federal funding for further destruction of human embryos. During the derivation process of attaining stem cells, scientists must extract them from an embryo, which results in the destruction of that embryo. By appropriating federal funding for stem cells, President Bush limits federally funding on additional culturing of embryos. As a result, the thousand of leftover embryos still in freezers must be adopted, discarded, or donated to private researchers.
Also, the President's policy bans the cloning of embryos, a procedure that yields a genetically identical cell or organ complementary to the donor. Bush's policy rules out federal financing for this type of research, and the House passed a bill banning all cloning procedures. Bush's regulation also limits the unregulated mishandling of donor embryos. The President had expressed concerned after Virginia Institute announced it had created embryos from sperm and egg donations to harvest stem cells.
It is still unclear how President Bush's decision will affect stem cell research. His policy has been characterized as an appeasement of both conservatives in favor of banning this research and liberals who support it. Much of the effectiveness of his decision will depend on how promising stem cell research proves in aiding patients through medical treatments.
Michael Windham graduated from UIC in December 2001 with a degree in Biological Sciences. He plans on pursuing a career in medicine.
