Stem cell research funding backed

President George Bush announced Aug. 9 that he will allow federal funding for limited embryonic stem cell research.

In late 1998, a group of scientists led by UW–Madison developmental biologist James Thomson became the first in the world to successfully isolate and culture human embryonic stem cells.

“The president’s decision reflects a careful balance between ethical concerns and medical potential, and allows research to go forward under the carefully controlled conditions that are appropriate to the current state of medical knowledge,” Chancellor John Wiley says. “This will support progressively informed decision-making, particularly with the assistance of the President’s Advisory Council, and eliminates the need for independent state regulation because it would interfere with the benefits of a nationally coherent policy.

Wiley also thanked Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, a former Wisconsin governor, for “his continued leadership on this issue.”

Scientists say stem cell research could lead to treatments for diseases like Parkinson’s and diabetes. But opponents say that it’s wrong to use human embryos for research.

The presidential decision will allow federal funds to be used for research only on existing stem cell lines that were derived, with the informed consent of the donors, from excess embryos created solely for reproductive purposes, and without any financial inducements. No federal funds can be used to create or use stem cell lines from newly destroyed embryos, the creation of embryos for research purposes, or any cloning of human embryos.

The President will create a President’s Council on Bioethics, headed by a biomedical ethics professor from the University of Chicago, to study the human and moral ramifications of developments in this area of science.

“I am very pleased that President Bush made a decision that will allow human embryonic stem cell research to go forward,” researcher Thomson says. “The proposed compromise will slow the research, but the compromise is better than halting the research entirely.”

If you want to learn more about the science of stem cells following President George Bush’s announcement tonight, Aug. 9, try UW–Madison University Communications’ updated and expanded stem cell research site on the Web.

The site includes basics questions and answers on the science; photos, illustrations and animations; links to resources; and archives of statements, media releases and news about stem cell research.