Disappearing Stem Cells, Disappearing Science

Soon the Bush administration will decide the fate of human embryonic stem cell (ESC) research at U.S. government-funded institutions, and the outcome of that decision will greatly influence the role of ESC science in human developmental biology around the world. But although the forces that science brings to this field are powerful, the future of ESC research will largely be determined by other interests: politics, organized religion, commerce, the legal community, and patient advocacy groups. The decision-making process needs to develop a policy that is fact-based and serves the best interests of society as well as science.