stems cells

Politcal impact of stem cells

“In 1973, Roe v. Wade legalized abortion nationwide. Five years later, the first successful human in vitro fertilization resulted in the birth of Louise Brown in England. These developments prompted the federal government to create regulations barring the use of federal funds for research that experimented on human embryos. In 1995, the NIH Human Embryo Research Panel advised the administration of President Bill Clinton to permit federal funding for research on embryos left over from in vitro fertility treatments and also recommended federal funding of research on embryos specifically created for experimentation. In response to the panel's recommendations, the Clinton administration, citing moral and ethical concerns, declined to fund research on embryos created solely for research purposes,[37] but did agree to fund research on left-over embryos created by in vitro fertility treatments. At this point, the Congress intervened and passed the Dickey Amendment in 1995 (the final bill, which included the Dickey Amendment, was signed into law by Bill Clinton) which prohibited any federal funding for the Department of Health and Human Services be used for research that resulted in the destruction of an embryo regardless of the source of that embryo. In 1998, privately funded research led to the breakthrough discovery of Human Embryonic Stem Cells (hESC).”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Stem_cell_laws_and_policy_in_the_United_States

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President George W. Bush vetoed the House Resolution 810 Stem Cell Research Cnhancement Act, which was a bill that would have reversed the Dickey Amendment which made it illegal for federal money to be used for the research where stem cells are taken from the destruction of an embryo, on July 192006

President Barack Obama signed the executive order reversing federal opposition to embryonic stem cell research, which allows for federal funding of stem cell research, on March 19, 2009.

Impact on Society

It is possible that stems cells would be capable of repairing or replacing damaged tssue, therefore withdrawing diseases and injury. For instances, if heart muscles are damaged by a heart attack then it might be able to be replaced be new muscle cells. According to the scientists studying these diseases, Stem cell research has the ability to impact many different types of diseaes shuch as, Diabetes, Cancer, cardiovascular diseases, Alzhemiers, Parkinsons, Autoimmune diseases, burn victims, blood diseases, Leukemia and spinal injuries. It is estimated that stem cell research has the ability to help over 100 million Americans who suffer from thses and other types of diseases and injuries. Stems also would help with outside the body drug testing, and hopefully lead to a dramatic lessen in the need for drug testing in animals and humans.