• Background: Controversy over human Embryonic stem cells
• Debate: Pro-life/No clones v. Saving lives
• Country Comparison: Britain, Singapore, South Korea clone cells for research
• Recent Legislation: Bans federal funding, does not ban private funding

Background

• Government funded stem cell research is another highly divisive issue in American politics because it is an extension of the abortion and cloning debates, particularly in regards to embryonic stem cell research and the destruction of human embryos.
• Stem cells can are transformed into many different cell types in the body. Research indicates stem cells may eventually be used to generate replacement tissues for people with say, diabetes, and people in need of vital organs. The controversy is rooted in the method most commonly used to create these tissues because it involves small clusters of cells that might otherwise grow into people. Most of the body's cells are limited to a single function, but embryonic stem cells are able to reproduce themselves repeatedly and they can also mature into many different cell types when given the right biological signals. These reasons have singled out embryonic stem cells among others as a as a way to generate new cells.
• An American firm may have found a way to make embryonic stem cells without the controversial aspects.

Country Comparison

• Britain, China, Singapore and South Korea, permit cloning for the creation of embryonic stem cells.

Debate

• Opponents argue that the government has an obligation to assert a moral position on issues by withhold federal support for a practice that devalues human life and the value of human life is compromised by reproductive cloning. Pro-life advocates also argue that embryonic stem cell research devalues human life by designating cells for other purposes that may have otherwise turned into babies. Some pro-life advocates believe that human life starts at the point of fertilization and the use of embryonic stem cells would therefore destroy and exploit nascent human life.
• Proponents rebut their opponents with the arguments that reproductive cloning cannot devalue human life because the purpose of stem cell research is not to reproduce people (i.e. clone), but to reproduce cells that can save lives and make life more tolerable for people with ailing conditions. Fertilization is not the beginning of life which is evinced by the living clones that are produced without fertilization.

Recent Legislation

• In 1995, a Research Panel recommended the Clinton administration to allow federal funding for research on embryos left over from in vitro fertility treatments and embryos specifically created for experimentation. The Clinton administration decided not to fund research on embryos created solely for research purposes citing moral and ethical concerns, but agreed to fund research on left-over embryos created by in vitro fertility treatments.
• Soon after Congress passed the Dickey Amendment which prohibited the federal government from funding research that resulted in the destruction of an embryo regardless of the embryo's source.
• The Clinton Administration re-examined its policy by instating a commission. It recommended that funding research that is conducted on embryonic stem cells from embryos discarded after in vitro fertility treatments but not from embryos created for the specific purpose of experimentation. The administration decided not to fund research that would directly cause the destruction of an embryo.
• The Bush administration announced in 2001 that it would make federal funds available for embryonic stem cell research on currently existing lines but it would not it would not fund the creation of new lines.
• In 2005, the House of Representatives voted to make federal funds available for some embryonic stem-cell research.
• In June 2006, the Senate passed the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act that would have made it legal for the Federal government to fund research on embryonic stem cells that uses embryos from in vitro fertilizations. This bill was vetoed by President Bush.
• The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007 would have amended the Public Health Service Act to provide funding for human embryonic stem cell research. President Bush also vetoed this bill.