Scientists believe that one of Barack Obama’s first actions as US president will be to lift the restrictions on stem cell research funding
ONE OF Ireland’s leading medico-legal experts has described as “very significant” suggestions that one of the first actions to be taken by the new US president is likely to be the lifting of the restrictions on US federal funding of human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research.
Labelling the widely anticipated move by president-elect Barack Obama as a “very welcome development”, Dr Deirdre Madden, lecturer in the UCC Law Department, says the reversal of the Bush administration’s current policy on stem cell research clearly signalled Obama’s own personal conviction that embryonic stem cell research was potentially of vital importance to the development of new therapies and cures for patients suffering with a range of debilitating illnesses.
“In my opinion, it is preferable that the research should be funded from public or governmental sources rather than private funding so as to ensure open access to research results – both positive and negative – and easier translation into clinical practice in due course,” Madden says.
“It is also crucial that this research takes place in a strictly controlled and monitored environment to ensure that all necessary safety precautions are taken, that researchers are suitably qualified to undertake this research, and that all legal and ethical safeguards are adhered to,” she adds.
UCC endorsed a new code of practice on the issue last October, becoming the first third-level institution in the Republic to effectively allow embryonic stem cell research under strict ethical guidelines.
The Bush administration has been accused of imposing its own ideology on American science, and most controversially in the area of hESCs, by restricting the subjects that could be researched with federal funds.
Twice during his presidency, George Bush vetoed bills passed by Congress that would have lifted restrictions on stem cell research that he himself imposed back in 2001. States such as California have gone ahead and funded stem cell research on their own in the absence of federal money.
Like previous presidents, Obama is expected to issue a number of executive orders after he takes office today. John Podesta, a key member of Obama’s transition team and former chief of staff to Bill Clinton, has stated that all of President Bush’s executive orders were being reviewed ahead of today’s inauguration, and singled out stem cell research as a particular area where change was likely to occur.
Conservatives, Christian groups and opponents of abortion have already voiced their concern over the possible move.
During the campaign, president-elect Obama said that if Congress sent a bill overturning the Bush administration’s sharp limits on federal funding for such research, he would sign it.
But many scientists, including Rachel Levinson from Arizona State University, who served under the past three presidents as assistant director for life sciences in the Office of Science and Technology Policy, believe the ban could be lifted quicker than that.
“I am willing to go out on a limb and make a prediction,” she told delegates at a recent seminar of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Washington. “I think that President Obama will release an executive order within 48 hours of his inauguration lifting the ban on federal funds for embryonic stem cell research . . . He has the power, with respect to federal funds, to lift that ban.”
During a Senate debate on the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act in July 2007, Senator Obama – an original co-sponsor of this bill – said the study of stem cells held enormous promise for the treatment of debilitating and life-threatening diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, diabetes and spinal cord injury.
“However, in order to reach this level of medical achievement, much more research is necessary to understand, and eventually harness, the amazing potential of stem cells,” he said. “Instead of creating roadblocks, we must all work together to expand federal funding of stem cell research and continue moving forward in our fight against disease by advancing our knowledge through science and medicine.”
Pointing out that there were then more than 400,000 embryos being stored in over 400 facilities throughout the United States, Obama argued that researchers should be able to utilise this resource given the proper ethical and scientific guidelines.
“The majority of these [embryos] are reserved for infertile couples. However, many will go unused, destined for permanent storage in a freezer or disposal. We should expand and accelerate research using these embryos, just as we should continue to explore the viability of adult stem cell use, cord blood use, and amniotic fluid use.”
More recently, when announcing Harvard’s John P Holdren, an expert on global warming, as his new White House science adviser, the president-elect stated that promoting science wasn’t just about providing resources, but was also about “protecting free and open inquiry”.
The new guidelines adopted by UCC require that every research project involving the use of hESCs must be submitted to the University Research Ethics Board for ethical review before the start of the project.
The board, which is chaired by Madden, recently approved the establishment of an advisory sub-committee comprising both internal and external experts to advise on any applications for approval for the import of human embryonic stem cell lines into UCC for research.
To date, there have been no applications for permission to import these lines.