Political+Implications

=**Political Implications **= toc

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=Introduction =

// Stem cell research, which effected a bioethics controversy, has also influenced legislation domestically and internationally. //

//The government primarily demonstrates its stance on stem cell research through policy guidelines on federal funding of research. Thus, most government literature regards which types of stem cells are acceptable for use in federally-funded research projects. //

 //In the U.S., the two major political parties are split on the issue. Most Democrats are supportive of federal funding of stem cell research, with key players such as Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama very vocal of their support. However, the Republican Party is split on the issue, with conservatives siding both ways -- President Bush being an example of a Republican very much opposed to federal funding of stem cell research. Independents each hold their stance. Ron Paul, who ran for President as an Independent (though he once ascribed to the Republican Party) has changed his position on federal funding of stem cell research several times throughout the past years though it is generally accepted that he is a supporter. //

=Domestic Policy =

Federal Policy by Administration
 Realistically, Roe vs. Wade can be counted as the first piece of stem cell legislation. It legalized abortion in 1973.
 * ===Clinton ===
 * In 1993, the **National Institutes of Health (NIH) Revitalization Act ** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">allowed federal funding of stem cell research. [14]
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">In 1994, the <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">NIH Human Embryo Research Panel ** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">submitted a report to the Clinton Administration with an assessment on “moral and ethical issues raised by [stem cell] research and recommendations for review and conduct of human embryo research.” [13]
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Following the report, in 1995, the <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Dickey Amendment ** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> prohibited use of federal funding for: “(1) the creation of a human embryo or embryos for research purposes; or (2) research in which a human embryo or embryos are destroyed, discarded, or knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death greater than that allowed for research on fetuses in utero.” [15]
 * ===<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Bush ===
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">However, in 2001, following Bush’s rise to political office, NIH’s guidelines on stem cell research funding were reevaluated and in August of that year, the number of stem cell lines available for research was limited by an executive order. [16]
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">These limitations were met with opposition from the public as well as many government officials. As a result of the vocal opposition, the House of Representatives and the Senate deliberated three major bills in the years of 2005 and 2006 that undid some of the restrictions placed by Bush’s previous policy. These are the major bills. Stem cell-related legislation has been brought up in the 107th-111th Congresses though many of those are dead bills. [17, 19]
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">These three bills were:
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">1) Bill 63-37: **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005 **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">– This allowed for federal funding of research on embryos scheduled to be destroyed by fertility clinics [18]. This bill was VETOED by President Bush in July 2006. However, after the veto of this bill, President Bush signed into law a 2005 funding act written by New Jersey Congressman Chris Smith – **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act of 2005 **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> which provided federal funding for stem cell research from bone marrow, umbilical cord blood, and adult stem cells. Bush said: "Destroying human life in the hopes of saving human life is not ethical. And it is not the only option before us. We're already seeing remarkable advances in sciencce and therapeutic uses of stem cells drawn from adults and children and the blood from ubilical cords with no harm to the donor," on his decision to veto legislation that would allow the federal government to give money for stem cell research. [7]
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">2) **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Fetus Farming Prohibition Act of 2006 **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> – This “prohibited the solicitation or acceptance of tissue from fetuses gestated for research purposes, and for other purposes.” [19]
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">3) **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Alternative Pluripotent Stem Cell Therapies Enhancement Act **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> – This encouraged research of stem cells that are not derived from a human embryo. [19]

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 * ===<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Obama ===
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">More recently, Barack Obama’s March 2009 **<span style="display: inline !important; font-family: Georgia,serif; text-align: left;">Executive Order removed “limitations on scientific inquiry, expanded NIH support for exploration of human stem cell research” which apparently “enhances the contribution of America’s scientists to important new discoveries and new therapies for the benefit of humankind.” [20] **
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">In espousing his executive order, Obama released a statement, “the full promise of stem cell research remains unknown, and it should not be overstated. But scientists believe these tiny cells may have the potential to help us understand, and possibly cure, some of our most devastating diseases and conditions…But that potential will not reveal itself on its own. Medical miracles do not happen simply by accident. They result from painstaking and costly research – from years of lonely trial and error, much of which never bears fruit – and from a government willing to support that work.”
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">It is his belief that: “in recent years, when it comes to stem cell research, rather than furthering discovery, our government has forced what I believe is a false choice between sound science and moral values. In this case, I believe the two are not inconsistent. As a person of faith, I believe we are called to care for each other and work to ease human suffering. I believe we have been given the capacity and will to pursue this research – and the humanity and conscience to do so responsibly.” [21]

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=<span style="background-color: #000000; color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; text-align: center;">Major State Policies =

[[image:Cartoon_death_embryonic_research.gif width="399" height="272"]]
<span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 50%; text-align: center;">http://homepage.mac.com/catservants/iblog/C2042420000/E20081122220015/Media/Cartoon%20death%20embryonic%20research.gif

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">New Jersey:

 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">S1909/A2840 bill ** passed in December 2003
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">"...permits human cloning for the purpose of developing and havesting human stem cells" [2]
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">This allows scientists to legally clone human embryos and implant these embryos into wombs

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Missouri:

 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Missouri Constitutional Amendment ** 2 law was legalized in 2006
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">"Certains forms of embryonic stem cell research in the state" [2]

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">California:

 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">November 2004- voters approved **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Proposition 71 **
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">State taxpayers fund the Stem Cell Research Institute with 3 billion dollars
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">2006, there were delays in Proposition 71
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger "authorized $150 million in loans to the institute in an attmept to jump start the process of funding research"

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Michigan:
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Arkansas, Iowa, Kanasas, Louisiana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Virgina have put restrictions on Stem Cell Research. "Louisiana is the only state that specifically prohibits research on in-vitro fertilized (IVF) embryos." [6]
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">"...prohibits research on human embryos." [7]

=<span style="background-color: #000000; color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; text-align: center;">International Policies = <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; text-align: center;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 50%; text-align: center;"> []

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">International Governing Bodies:
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Several international groups have proposed policies regarding stem cell research.

In 2005, the **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">United Nations ** passed a "non-binding" **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Declaration on Human Cloning ** that banned human cloning until further notice. However, the vote was not unanimous or close to majority and demonstrates a major split on the issue. [25]

The **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Council of Europe **, composed of 46 European countries, bans reproductive cloning though not therapeutic cloning. It established its policies on human life in 1997 with its C**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">onvention on Human Rights with Regards to Biomedicine **. [25]

The **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">European Union ** funds embryonic stem cell research, but not reproductive cloning, though it does not explicitly ban therapeutic cloning. [25]

The **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Hinxton Group **, established in 2004 by**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> the Stem Cell Policy and Ethics Program (SCOPE) ** at **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics **, is an international group that is attempting to unite the conflicting international guidelines on stem cell research. They have published various statements that analyze the controversies of stem cell research and the different sides of the story. [27]

Another international group, the **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">International Society of Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) **, is also attempting to develop international guidelines on stem cell research. [28]

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Countries:
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Austria, France, Germany, Demark, and Ireland do not permit the production of stem cell lines, but in Finland, Greece, the Netherlands, Sweden, and United Kingdom the production of embryonic stem cells are allowed. [9]

**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Canada: **
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Flexible stem cell research laws, in 2005, 5 million dollars was awarded to stem cell experimentation and research. Canadian policy states that any left over embryo should be used for stem cell research. Any destruction after stem cell extraction is not allowed, and embryonic cloning is not permitted as well.

**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">South Korea: **
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Strong stem cell research advancements, researchers have successfully used therapuetic cloning that matches the individual, which lessens the chance of immunological rejection.

**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Germany, Austria, Italy: **
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Policies in these countries are very strict. Research that involves embryonic stem cells is prohibited, and in 2006 Germany tried to ban all research in the European Union.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Spain:
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Stem cells are used to help children that have incurable diseases, but prior to the present day laws scientists were only allowed to work with frozen embryos. [10]

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">China:
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> China's policy on stem cell research is one of the most liberal, mostly because Confucian philosophy doesn't place value on the embryo and life is thought to begin after birth. However, China strictly forbids human cloning. [23]

=<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">References =


 * 1) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">[]
 * 2) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">[]
 * 3) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">@http://www.allaboutpopularissues.org/history-of-stem-cell-research-faq.htm
 * 4) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">[]
 * 5) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">@http://nevadasagebrush.com/blog/2009/03/24/new-stem-cells-avoid-controversy/
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 * 21) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">[|http://www.whitehouse.go]<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">[|v/the_press_office/Remarks-of-the-President-As-Prepared-for-Delivery-Signing-of-Stem-Cell-Executive-Order-and-Scientific-Integrity-Presidential-Memorandum/]
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