Two new stem cell bills

Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) has introduced legislation that would permit federal funding for the derivation of embryonic stem cells and research using embryonic stem cells. The Stem Cell Research Act of 2001 is similar to legislation introduced by Sens. Arlen Specter (R-Penn.) and Tom Harkin (D-Iowa). Under both bills, NIH could fund the creation of stem cell lines from donated embryos produced during in-vitro fertilization procedures with written consent from the donors.

The Bush administration has frozen implementation of NIH's guidelines on stem cell research pending a review of legal and scientific issues. President Bush has suggested that tissue from spontaneous abortions and adult stem cells could meet existing research needs. McDermott, however, stated that "limiting research to these two sources will seriously shut the doors on the most promising field in medical research. First, tissue from spontaneous abortions is seldom usable due to the genetic abnormalities that caused the miscarriage in the first place. Second, it is the prevailing expert scientific opinion that we do not know if adult stem cells have the same potential as embryonic stem cells." ...