What federal laws govern stem cell research?
Currently, all forms of stem cell research, including somatic cell nuclear transfer, are legal at the federal level. There was a federal policy limiting federal funding to research using stem cell lines developed before August 2001. But on March 9, 2009, President Obama signed an executive order revising that policy and allowing the federal government to invest millions of dollars in new embryonic stem cell research. However, at the federal level, the 1996 Dickey-Wicker Amendment continues to ban the use of federal funds for the creation of human embryos for research purposes or for research in which human embryos are destroyed. In essence, this law continues to block the use of federal funds for the creation of new stem cell lines. It does not, however, prevent federal funding to be used for research on those stem cells lines if they are created using non-federal funds. The Dickey-Wicker Amendment can only be overturned by congressional action.
