Stem Cell Research Funding: The New Political Hot Potato? Obama Considering Lifting Bush’s Ban

Stem cell research, the controversial use of the most basic human cells harvested from embryos and seen by some as a possible key to unlocking diseases such as Parkinson’s, diabetes, spinal cord injuries, and heart disease, is reportedly back on the road to full government funding.

President Barack Obama is said to be considering issuing an executive order lifting the ban on federal funding for some types of stem cell research imposed by his predecessor in the White House, former President George W. Bush. An Obama senior advisor said in a televised interview on February 15, 2009 that such an order could be coming “soon.”

A move by the new President to reinstate the flow of public funds for more forms of the medical research is sure to reignite the smoldering medical, ethical, and religious debate over the use of human embryonic stem cells.

Stem Cells: The Body’s Master Cells

Stem cells are those cells in the body which can develop into just about any type of cell. Stem cells work as a sort of repair system for the body, dividing and multiplying to replace damaged muscle cells, red blood cells, or brain cells. Embryonic stem cells are considered the most powerful of all stem cells, since they can become any type of tissue in the body.

There are three classes of stem cells, including totipotent (found in a fertilized human egg and can give rise to any of the 220 types of cells in the body), multipotent (can give rise to a number of different cell types), and pluripotent (can give rise to any cell, except those needed for fetal development).

The Bush Ban

On August 9th, 2001, President Bush announced that federal funds would be given for research using human embryonic stem cells only if the derivation process (which begins with the destruction of the embryo) was already underway on that day, the stem cells were derived from an embryo that was created for reproductive purposes and was no longer needed, informed consent was obtained for the donation of the embryo, and the donation of the embryo had not involved financial inducements.

To many, Bush’s ban was a nod to his strong conservative Christian supporters, who staunchly oppose the practice and see the use of embryonic stem cells harvested from human embryos as the destruction of life. Medical researchers and patients hoping for a cure from stem cell research were disappointed.

FDA Approves First Trials

Talk of an Obama move to reverse ground on stem cell research and reinstate federal funding for the work follows news that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared the way for the first trial to see if human embryonic stem cells could treat people safely. The FDA gave approvals for the work in January 2009.

The newly approved trial will try to use stem cells from already existing lines to regenerate nerve tissue in patients with crushed spinal cords, officials said.

Researchers have been using adult stem cells, such as blood-forming stem cells in bone marrow (called hematopoietic stem cells, or HSCs), in bone marrow transplants for over 40 years. Work to harvest HSCs is now used to treat leukemia, lymphoma, and other inherited blood disorders. However, the use of embryonic stem cells has been more controversial, primarily because of the ethical debate about using the cells taken from aborted fetuses.

While embryonic stem cell research supporters say the building blocks of life hold immense medical potential, since they can replicate any cell in the body, and that the benefits of adult stem cells are limited, opponents of embryonic cell research say the cells are not as effective as adult stem cells in treating spinal cord injuries and a variety of other diseases and conditions.

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