US stem cell legislation to be introduced

New legislation to permit federal funds to be used for research on embryos, which
would otherwise be destroyed following IVF, will be introduced to the US
Congress.

Diana DeGette, Republican representative for Colorado, who has sponsored the
bill, said: 'This legislation would place into statute a framework to ensure
such critical research can be conducted unimpeded by political interference'.

If approved, the Stem Cell Research Advancement Act 2011 will seek to codify
the US National Institutes of Health's (NIH) guidelines for human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research and will require the guidelines to be reviewed every three
years. The Act will also prohibit the use of federal funds for human cloning
techniques.

It is the third time such legislation has been considered by US politicians.
Previous versions, which supporters say were similar to the current bill, were approved
by Congress in 2006 and 2007 to be ultimately vetoed by former President George Bush. DeGette
has called for broad bipartisan support for the new bill which she says was critical
when passing the previous legislation - 'it certainly is critical for us now',
she said.

The bill, co-sponsored by Pennsylvania Republican Charlie Dent, would give
legislative backing to President Obama's 2009 executive order allowing federal
funds to be used for hESC research. Proponents of the new bill say uncertainty generated
by current legal proceedings about hESC research funding - and the possibility
of a future president overriding the order - is having a chilling effect on new
research. The bill 'does establish ethical criteria for stem cell research, and
I think that's very, very important', said Dent.

In 2010, two scientists challenged the NIH arguing its guidelines which
followed Obama's order contravened a 1996 law called the Dickey-Wicker
amendment — which features in the Labor,
Health and Human Services appropriations
bill that funds the NIH. The law prohibits the use of federal funds for hESC
research on embryos which are to be destroyed.

A temporary injunction on hESC research was lifted by a federal appeals
court, which also confirmed the plaintiffs' ability to continue the case. The
matter is now being determined by US District Court Judge Royce Lambert, with
the final decision expected in the coming weeks.