Laws Governing Stem Cell Research

President Bush’s Embryonic Stem Cell Policy

In August of 2001, President Bush established a federal policy on embryonic stem cell research. You are probably confused and believed, as many did, that President Bush cut off federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.

The facts are that the Bush policy allowed federal funds to be used for research on existing stem cell lines derived from embryos that had already been destroyed before August of 2001. The policy did not allow federal funds to be used to destroy more living human embryos.

President Bush and the previous Congress committed hundreds of millions of dollars to ethical adult stem cell research and to establish cord blood banks.

President Obama's Embryonic Stem Cell Policy

By Executive Order, President Obama overturned the Bush policy in 2009, allowing federal tax dollars to be used to destroy living human embryos. It remains to be seen if the Obama administration will commit dollars to ethical research using adult stem cells and iPS cells.

Missouri Stem Cell Policy

The Missouri constitution now prevents the Legislature and local officials from regulating or preventing unethical research on human beings at the embryonic stage that is related to embryonic stem cell research.   Amendment 2, adopted in 2006, even overrides some elementary protections that were already in the law, such as the one against using the unborn for research after abortion, if the research is related to embryonic stem cell experiments.

Proponents of cloning and destroying embryonic human beings to obtain their stem cells have also persuaded the Legislature to provide your tax money, through certain appropriations and economic development legislation, for broad categories of research that can include cloning and embryonic stem cell research. Under current law, it is going to be a yearly battle to keep taxpayer money from funding cloning and unethical stem cell research.  Not one effective treatment for any disease or condition has resulted from these expenses or from similar privately-funded efforts.

On the other hand, Missouri also supports cord-blood banks at St. Louis University and other locations that can be used for ethical and effective research using adult stem cells.  Missouri Right to Life strongly supports ethical research like this that harms no one, young or old.

 

This information is courtesy of Wisconsin Right to Life.