Federal Funding of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Paper

Federal Funding of Human Embryonic Stem Cell - Research Paper Example During the reign of President Bush, federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research stood banned since the administration opposed the practice. Even though the federal government does not fund research that involves the creation of embryos for purposes of research, President Obama’s administration lifted the ban. The federal government funds researchers that make use of embryos created in vitro fertilization but have stayed unused. However, the move by the federal government to provide funding for human embryonic stem cell research encourages other unethical practices such as abortion. Since these scientists remain prohibited from creating embryos for the research, they would turn to other alternatives to obtaining embryos. The justification used for the research would be that embryos couldn’t be considered human. This justification is likely to be used by unethical practitioners to support their misdemeanors, for instance, those conducting the abortion. Causes of the problem James Thomson initiated the human embryonic stem cell research in 1998. Several reasons became presented for the initiation of this research on the basis that stem cells have the potential to save lives. One such cause for embryonic stem cell research would be the development of rubella and polio as a resource for developing national policy and for local institutional review boards. This became founded on the premise that the research would develop considerable biomedical knowledge not obtainable by other methods. This problem intensified due to the impact of laws on the situation stem cell research developed. The Congress under President Reagan’s reelection in 1993 nullified the requirement for approval by the Ethics Advisory Board (EAB) on embryonic stem cell research. In addition, the Congress lifted a moratorium on federal funding of embryo research, which later became banned by the 1996 Congress (Holland et al. 27-29).