U.S. Government Policy

     The debate of human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research began in 1996 with the Dickey-Wicker amendment. This amendment set by the Congress was an effort to ban all research of hESC’s, prohibiting funding for research that involves creating hESC or results in the destruction of the cells. In 2000, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) created a guideline in which hESC research could still be conducted following the Dickey-Wicker Amendment. In response, former President George W. Bush released a statement that prohibited the funding of most hESC research, heavily stifling the field. A great breakthrough in research was Executive order 13505 that removes all the barriers created by W. Bush. This executive order essentially fully opens hESC research for full federal funding that follow the law.

      The NIH guidelines define hESC as cells that are derived from the inner cell mass of blastocyst stage human embryos. These cells may survive for a prolonged time without being differentiated and may be done so to create a vast number of cell lines. Any research that would be conducted on these cells will be subject to review and must be approved for funding. The source of hESC’s may be derived from an overproduction during in vitro fertilization or that are donated to the NIH without the prospect of payment. Research may however not be conducted if the hESCs are introduced into non-human primate blastocysts or if the hESCs benefit the germ line. With the research barriers lifted by Obama, hESC has allowed for many diseases to be cured or treated. An example is the treatment of Stargardt’s disease. This disease deteriorates rod cells within the eye causing blindness. hESCs can be differentiated into the patient’s rod cells and may be implanted to treat to slow or even reverse blindness.



Sources:

Mazzaschi, Tonny. “Embryonic Stem Cell Research.” – Research. AAMC, n.d. Web.

2009 Guidelines on Human Stem Cell Research. In Stem Cell Information [World Wide Web site]. Bethesda, MD: National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2015

Obama, Barack. “Executive Order 13505 — Removing Barriers to Responsible Scientific Research Involving Human Stem Cells.” The White House. The White House, 9 Mar. 2009. Web.