Rice University's Baker Institute's experts discuss the current debate on United States' embryonic stem cell policy.

In January, Baker Institute fellows Neal Lane and Kirstin Matthews released policy recommendations on stem cell research for the Obama administration. They recommend that stem cell research be allowed to expand in a responsible, thoughtful and ethical manner and that a federal stem cell policy be developed. They encourage the administration to expand federal funding for human embryonic stem cells and charge the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with oversight. Lane is a senior fellow in science and technology policy. He also served President Clinton as science adviser and is the former director of the National Science Foundation. Matthews is a fellow in science and technology policy.

Matthews and Lane's policy recommendations for the Obama administration:

• Support research on all types of human stem cells, including embryonic, adult, nuclear-transfer-derived (also known as therapeutic cloning) and induced-pluripotent-derived.
  
  
• Authorize federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research on lines derived according to strict ethical guidelines, regardless of the date the cell lines were derived or created.
  
  
• Remove the Dickey Amendment (which severely limits the NIH funding of embryonic research) from the Department of Health and Human Services appropriation bills.
  
  
• Ban any effort to clone a human being, regardless of the source of funding.
  
  
  
• Create an Embryonic Stem Cells Research Oversight (ESCRO) board within the NIH to review controversial research and recommend policy for the agency.
  
  
• Continue the President's Council on Bioethics.

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
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Read the complete stem cell recommendations at http://www.bakerinstitute.org/publications/ST-pub-ObamaTransitionMatthewsLane-121908.pdf