This week's BioNews includes a story from the United States that the National Bioethics Advisory Commission is about to publish recommendations that federal funds be made available for some human embryo research. A congressional ban, in place since 1994, has meant that no federal money can be used to fund research which involves the destruction of human embryos. But now, funding for research into cell therapies derived from embryonic stem cells may be made available.
Stem cell research is an important area of research. Since the news of Dolly the sheep's arrival, some have suggested the possibility of taking stem cells from cloned embryos as a means of developing potential treatments for a number of degenerative diseases. In Britain, talk of this avenue of research led to recommendations to government that existing embryo research regulations be amended to allow for cloning for this specific purpose. If the British government acts upon the advice - and Parliament is willing - the UK will have regulations in place in time for when the first research applications come in.
Cloning and stem cell research, however, is still in its infancy. It will take many years for successful treatments to be developed and there is always the possibility that it will not work. Whilst the research should surely go ahead, the benefits that it is likely to reap will not be felt for decades to come.
In the meantime, human embryo research can offer other benefits to human health and wellbeing. Research has already brought us developments in the treatment of human infertility. Research carried out by Robert Edwards and Patrick Steptoe in the 1960s and 70s led to the advent of in vitro fertilisation (IVF). Research carried out since then has increased the success rate of IVF and developed new assisted reproductive techniques such as intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). It has also made possible the development of techniques to detect the presence of genetic diseases in the early human embryo.
Of course these treatments are available in the United States, as they are in other countries around the world. And research to develop and advance them has been carried out in the US, but in the private sector. However, since IVF in particular is now so widely used in the US to treat the one in 10 Americans who suffer from infertility, it seems odd that Congress is not willing to recognise this fact by supporting federally funded research to improve services for those people.
Federal support for stem cell research would certainly be welcome, but is it not time for all embryo research to be funded by the US State? Are the infertile and those at risk of having a child with a genetic disease less worthy of help than those with degenerative diseases?
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