Endorsement for US federal funding of stem cell research

The US federal government should fund research using human embryonic stem cells but funding should not extend to the derivation of these cell from embryos left over from fertility clinics, according to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Institute for Civil Society.

The two groups maintain that human embryonic stem cell research - including their derivation from embryos - can be conducted 'in a fully ethical manner'. But, they argue that public funds should not be spent on derivation because human embryos are destroyed in the process, raising 'ethical questions' for those who find the intentional destruction of embryos 'morally wrong'. This position echoes that taken by the National Institutes of Health earlier this year in an attempt to by-pass the current congressional ban on federal funding for research involving the destruction of human embryos.

The Coalition of Americans for Research Ethics, which opposes all human stem cell research, called the report's distinction between stem cell use and derivation 'ethically contradictory'.