Stem Cells - Brutes or Angels: Human Possibility in the Age of Biotechnology - page 74

president cited two reasons for restricting federally supported esC research: (1)
destroying blastocyst embryos to create esCs is disrespectful of human life, and
(2) enough esC lines are already available for researchers to use. The prospect for
new adult stem cell therapies was also cited to support restrictions on esC re-
search. An inconsistency in the 2001 ban on producing new human esC lines is
that it does not address the eventual discarding of hundreds of thousands of sur-
plus embryos created at ivf clinics. most funding for research on esC lines cre-
ated after the president's prohibition came from state coffers. California, Wis-
consin, Connecticut, illinois, maryland, and new Jersey all allocated funds for
esC research that included creation of new esC lines. The largest state commit-
ment was in California, where, in 2004, 59 percent of voters approved a $3 bil-
lion, ten-year bond issue to fund esC research, including therapeutic cloning. is-
suance of grants from this money was held up in the courts, but in 2006 the state's
republican governor, Arnold schwarzenegger, provided $150 million for the re-
search directly from the state budget on the day after President Bush vetoed leg-
islation that would have removed his earlier prohibition on the research. on the
same day, Democratic governor rod r. Blagojevich of illinois provided $5 mil-
lion for esC research in his state.
17. more information about the stem-cell lawsuit is available at http://www
.nature.com/news/specials/stemcellinjunction/index.html (accessed may 8, 2012).
18. The national Council of state legislatures published a table in 2008 de-
tailing how laws in thirty-three states regulate research on human embryos and
fetuses. http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=14413 (accessed november 11,
2011).
19. A vast literature exists on distributive justice. Two especially accessible
resources on the subject are lamont and favor 2009; Beauchamp and Childress
2001, 225- 82.
sources for Additional information
Barry, Patrick. 2007. “hold the embryos: Genes Turn skin into stem Cells.” Sci-
ence News 172 (21): 323.
Dorff, elliot n. 2001. “embryonic stem Cell research: The Jewish Perspec-