Why is good public policy for stem cell research important?
Public policy and/or public funding can ensure that stem cell research is done ethically by making it subject to public oversight and establishing controls. For example, there is currently no federal or state law that bans human reproductive cloning. Researchers have discovered that all of the stem cell lines derived before August 9, 2001 on which the National Institutes of Health may fund research are contaminated with animal molecules from the culture medium used to sustain them. Therefore, several states are considering legislation or funding mechanisms to support this research and to attract and retain stem cell researchers. States that are successful in passing this kind of legislation are likely to be the first ones to develop breakthroughs and treatments, and the first ones to offer these treatments to their citizens through clinical trials.
