Some States Ban Stem Cell Research
March 16th, 2009 at 10:50 pm - by Tom Prout
When earlier this month it was first rumoured that President Barack Obama could overturn a Bush administration policy banning embryonic stem cell research, there was the expected bipartisan uproar at the notion. Now, just one week after the ban was lifted, Oklahoma politician Mike Reynolds has put forward a bill to make the research illegal in his state.
Though during a speech on “restoring scientific integrity to government”, Obama gave the National Institute of Health (NIH) four months to draw up specific regulatory guidelines for the practice, some states, Oklahoma included, have motioned to make much of the work illegal. Reynolds accuses the federal government of going too far, infringing on states’ rights, and believes that it is a state’s right to overturn any piece of legislation which the federal government “messes up”.
The executive order from Democratic President Obama lifted an eight-year ban on the creation and destruction of embryos for the sake of stem cell research, a hurdle which scientists have said seriously slowed progress in finding cures for presently incurable diseases. The reason embryonic cells are used is their pluripotent properties, allowing them to turn into any of the 220 types of cell found in the human body; before the order, only embryos created prior to August 9th, 2001, were permitted for use.
Though for the most part, the embryos used in stem cell research come from fertility clinics after they are no longer required by the donors, the eventual NIH decision has aroused fear amongst anti-abortionists at all levels of government, fearful that cloning technology may be granted use under the revised legislation. The issue is by no means partisan, as some anti-abortion lobbyists support the lifting of the ban, presumably because they feel the potential for stem cell research to save lives is, in fact, pro-life.
“I believe the federal government has infringed on several states’ rights. The right to protect lives is one…my motivation is to protect unborn children,” - Mike Reynolds
Other states to adopt similar legislature, although it varies in severity of limits, are: Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. The limits imposed by these state governing bodies range from openly prohibiting stems from fertility clinics being used, to denying state funding for any research pertaining to the destruction of embryos.
A mass opposition has arisen amongst academics, research scientists, and other figures in each of the respective states, who feel that the bans are not justified.
