Background and Legal Issues Related to Stem Cell Research (Congressional Research Service)

Background and Legal Issues Related to Stem Cell Research

Congressional Research Service Report for Congress

...With certain restrictions, the President has announced that federal funds may be
used to conduct research on human embryonic stem cells. Federal research is limited
to 641 existing stem cell lines that were derived (1) with the informed consent of the
donors; (2) from excess embryos created solely for reproductive purposes; and (3)
without any financial inducements to the donors. No federal funds will be used for the
derivation or use of stem cell lines derived from newly destroyed embryos; the creation
of any human embryos for research purposes; or cloning of human embryos for any
purposes. Several lawsuits have been filed relating to stem cell research, and questions
have been raised concerning access to existing stem cell lines by federal researchers....

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