The Present Policy

The current policy on federal government funding of human embryonic stem cell research, then, must be understood in terms of the constraints of the Dickey Amendment and in terms of the logic of the moral and political aims that underlie that amendment.

At the time of the policy’s announcement, a number of embryonic stem cell lines had already been derived and were in various stages of growth and characterization. The embryos from which they were derived had therefore already been destroyed and could no longer develop further. As President Bush put it, “the life and death decision had already been made.”¹³

The administration’s policy made it possible to use taxpayer funding for research conducted on those preexisting lines, but it refused in advance to support research on any lines created after the date of the announcement. In addition, to be eligible for funding, those preexisting lines would have had to have been derived from excess embryos created solely for reproductive purposes, made available with the informed consent of the donors, and without any financial inducements to the donors—standard research-ethics conditions that had been attached to the previous administration’s short-lived funding guidelines, as well as to earlier attempts to formulate rules for federal funding of human embryo research. The policy denies federal funding not only for research conducted on stem cell lines derived from embryos destroyed after August 9, 2001 (or that fail to meet the above criteria), but also (as the proposed Clinton-era policy would have) for the creation of any human embryos for research purposes and for the cloning of human embryos for any purpose.^v

The moral, legal, and political grounds of this policy have been hotly contested from the moment of its announcement. Debates have continued regarding its aims, its character, its implementation, and its underlying principles, as well as the significance of federal funding in this area of research. For example, many scientists, physicians, and patient advocacy groups contend that the policy is too restrictive and thwarts the growth of a crucial area of research. On the other side, some opponents of embryo research believe the policy is too liberal and legitimates and rewards (after the fact) the destruction of nascent human life. Some ethicists argue that there is a moral imperative to remove all restrictions upon potentially life-saving research; other ethicists argue that there is a moral imperative to protect the lives of human beings in their earliest and most vulnerable stages. These and similar arguments are reviewed in the next chapter. But before one can enter into these debates, it is essential first to understand the relevant elements of the policy itself as clearly and distinctly as possible.¹