Mired in the Quagmire of Uncertainty: The "Catch-22" of Embryonic Stem Cell Research

Abstract

Pluripotent human embryonic stem (ES) cells hold remarkable therapeutic potential, but their use is fraught with moral, ethical, scientific, and political concerns. In this essay, I discuss how an odd combination of patent issues, presidential policy, market uncertainties, and evolving Food and Drug Administration regulations have together hindered the progress of ES cell research in the United States of America. This coalescence of issues is unique. I suggest that these factors explain why the United States has not been a dominant player in advancing ES research. I predict that small, noncontroversial changes would go far in ameliorating many of the roadblocks that now exist. Most of these changes would not require a change in policy or even action by the U.S. government; a simple clarification and definition would suffice.The reason these changes have met solid resistance is suggested to derive from financial rather than moral, ethical, or scientific issues.