The NIH's recently proposed guidelines on the use of federal funds for human embryonic stem cell research have disappointed many scientists and patient advocates. This frustration mirrors the reaction to former President George W. Bush's 2001 restriction on federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research. But it is generally unrecognized that Bush's ban had a beneficial effect in enriching the partnership between bioethics and biomedical research. Two events in the 1990s propelled bioethics into the global arena. In 1997, cloning of the sheep Dolly triggered a world-wide debate on the ethics of human cloning. One year later, scientists described methods to isolate stem cells from human embryos and successfully reprogram them into other types of cells. This innovation sparked the current debate on the morality of destroying human embryos to obtain precious stem cells. Responding to these debates, Bush chose to follow the religious or moral convictions of many...
Interested in reading more?
Become a Member of
Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!