Stem Cell Talk

A panel of experts met on Capitol Hill on Nov. 16 to discuss the impact of President George W. Bush's reelection on federal stem cell research policy. The panel also discussed the passage of a stem cell initiative, Proposition 71, in California.

Expanded public awareness is key to increased support for stem cell research policy, the panelists concluded. The Republican Main Street Partnership, a public policy organization, hosted the briefing.

"Our purpose here today is to increase awareness and understanding of stem cell research," said panel moderator Rep. Michael N. Castle (D-Del.). Castle authored stem cell legislation H.R. 4682, which would expand federal policy by allowing stem cell lines to be derived from excess frozen embryos in storage at fertility clinics.

California's Proposition 71--which will provide substantial new funding for stem cell research in the Golden State--was discussed by Lawrence S. B. Goldstein, Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at the University of California, San Diego. Although the initiative is generally good news, it "cannot serve as a substitute for federal involvement in stem cell research," he said. "One state out of 50 cannot carry the nation. Instead, California should serve as an example that there is enormous public support for biomedical research."

There is some evidence of public support, said Robert Moran, vice president of the polling firm Fabrizio, McLaughlin & Associates. He shared the results of a national poll of 800 voters who said they voted for President Bush in the recent election.

The survey--done on behalf of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation--found that 41% of the voters polled were undecided about stem cell research. But the data also indicated that 55% would support expanding the federal policy to include work on cell lines derived from "excess embryos frozen in fertility clinics and donated by the parents."