Legislation on Stem Cell Research & Related Issues - Essay Example

The actual research on stem cells began after the 1950’s when a cure for leukemia and several immune-deficiency disorders were sought that were life-taking (UK Stem Cell Foundation 2011). Stem cell research produced a cure for leukemia through bone marrow transport from a sibling and within no time, people began to look forward at the same to develop a cure for several other disorders. People still consider stem cell research potentially providing a cure for several disorders including renal conditions (requiring renal transplantation, neuro-dengerative disorders, cardiac disorders, cancers, etc, wherein no cure for the same has been found till today using other forms of technology.

In order to generate opportunities and cure for the disorder there needs to be greater funding from the Federal government in order to pioneer and support the development of such technology. In the past, stem cell research has also worked real-time cures for several disorders. For example, a person who had a gene resistant to the HIV virus, stem cell research helped the person to stop taking antiviral drugs. . logy and that in sporadic cases, cures for several diseases have been obtained, there is no evidence to point out that stem cells can in fact proved a cure for diseases.

These two points into consideration, the Bush Administration in 2001 decided to partially fund such research and slowly phase out the use of such technology. Stem cell research also involves harvesting body parts and for this reason the Congress sought a ban (Wertz, 2002). However, it should be noted that the Congress sought a ban only on that research that involved destruction of embryonic stem cells that had the potential to transform into living beings. Slowly with greater mileage and greater studies that proved that stem cells provided a cure for various disorders that were otherwise incurable, slowly stem cells research was sought as a necessity.

In order to regulate the funding and projects under the stem cell banner, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine was created in 2004; any organization that wanted sponsorship for stem cell research had to approach to the CIRM. With greater pressure on the Bush Administration on the policy of banning stem cell research, a partial reversal of the policy was taken by the Bush government. The Barack Obama Government which came to power in 2008 immediately signed an Executive Order that permitted stem cell on human embryos.

A clarification was issued by the US Federal Government in 2011, which said that the funds could only be used for stem cell research and not on destruction of human embryos. Hence, research projects that wanted to use federal funds had to have a clear and constructive purpose for stem cell research and not mere destruction of human embryos that would otherwise be obtained from the leftover embryos from couples who undergo IVF