The pressure is growing on President Bush to change the limits he set four years ago on human embryonic stem-cell research. Several states and a number of foreign countries are vying to take the lead on this potentially revolutionary research. They plan to spend billions of dollars in the next decade. By contrast, the National Institutes of Health spent a pittance–only $24.3 million–on human embryonic stem-cell research in 2004.
That’s mainly because Bush limited federal funding to research on stem cell lines that existed in 2001. The White House estimated then that 60 to 70 lines would qualify for funds. As it turns out, the real number is only about a third of that. And those stem cell lines are contaminated with animal products because of how they were grown, according to a recent study published by Nature Medicine. Because of such flaws, the old cells may never be suitable for use in humans.
The president has resisted pressure to lift the limits. But the decision he made has proven to be far too restrictive. The limits set by Bush aren’t realistic in light of a dramatically changing landscape of stem-cell research.
A measure introduced this month by a bipartisan group of lawmakers would lift those limits in a responsible way. It would allow research that meets ethical guidelines to be established by the National Institutes of Health. It would set this minimum standard: No embryos would be created for the purpose of research.
The law would authorize federal research funds for stem cells extracted from frozen embryos already created and stored in in-vitro fertilization clinics. There are an estimated 400,000 of these embryos in the United States. They were created for human fertilization but will not be used, and will be discarded unless they are donated to science. The people for whom the embryos were created would have to give their written consent for the donation.
In the absence of reasonable federal policy, states are scrambling to lure scientists. California has pledged to spend $3 billion over a decade on research, and New Jersey’s acting governor is urging the state to spend $380 million to finish building a stem cell institute and fund grants over the next seven years. Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes has proposed a $1 billion research initiative for this state.
Bush’s directive has sealed off the federal debate over what is ethically appropriate research on embryonic stem cells, and left the initiative to the states, which have little experience with the critical decisions around funding basic science.
Example: In California, members appointed to the new committee that will oversee stem-cell research grants have numerous conflicts of interest in their ties to biotech and drug companies that stand to profit from the research.
The recent news that the White House-approved stem cell lines are tainted means it is even more urgent to lift the federal limits now. Scientists had long feared the cells were tainted; now they’re sure. How did it happen? In simple terms, the scientists used mouse cells and other animal serum to grow these cells and keep them alive. Somehow, in the process, the human cells were tainted by proteins from the mouse cells. It is not clear what this will mean to future research or potential treatments that could flow from these lines. But it’s possible–some say more than likely–these cells cannot be used to develop treatments for human diseases. It’s not clear yet even if they can be decontaminated.
Scientists are a long way from stem cell treatments. They’re still at the basic level of trying to understand how to make stem cells transform themselves into specialized cells. But they’re making progress. Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison recently reported that they transformed human embryonic stem cells into muscle-controlling motor neurons in laboratory tests for the first time. That’s the kind of promising discovery that may lead to treatments for Lou Gehrig’s disease and spinal cord injuries.
Last year, 206 members of the U.S. House, including several GOP opponents of abortion, wrote to Bush, urging him to fund stem-cell research on frozen embryos that would otherwise be discarded. That effort also had the support of 58 senators. That suggests broad support is available for the stem-cell measure introduced this month. Yes, it would essentially override a decision by Bush. The Republican leaders of the House and Senate need to put aside any concern about that and move this legislation.
