www.lesswrong.com/posts/GNjDC6jtjr2iiE45i/quality-matters-most-when-stakes-are-h...
1 correction found
the United States had banned this kind of research
The U.S. had not imposed a blanket national ban on this work. What existed were mainly federal funding restrictions; privately or state-funded embryonic stem-cell and SCNT research could still be legal.
Full reasoning
This overstates U.S. policy.
If “this kind of research” means embryonic stem-cell research, contemporaneous sources say it was not banned nationwide. The policy fight in the 2000s was primarily about whether federal money could support it, not whether it was illegal to do at all. A 2007 BMJ news report stated plainly: “Embryonic stem cell research is not banned in the United States: the current battle is solely over whether federal funds can be used for such research.”
If “this kind of research” means the more specific somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT)/therapeutic cloning approach associated with Hwang’s work, FDA states that “In the United States, SCNT remains legal, as it has not been addressed by federal law. However … a moratorium on United States federal funding for SCNT prohibits funding the practice for the purposes of research.”
An archived Bush White House explainer from the period makes the same distinction for embryonic stem-cell work: “Private-sector human embryonic stem cell research has been and continues to be permissible without restriction in the U.S.” and “there is no Presidential ban on human embryonic stem cell research.”
So the accurate characterization is that the U.S. had significant federal funding restrictions and some state-level bans, but not a blanket U.S.-wide ban on the underlying research.
3 sources
- Therapeutic Cloning and Genome Modification | FDA
“In the United States, SCNT remains legal, as it has not been addressed by federal law. However, in 2002, a moratorium on United States federal funding for SCNT prohibits funding the practice for the purposes of research.”
- Bush says he will veto stem cell funding, despite vote in favour in Congress - PMC
“Embryonic stem cell research is not banned in the United States: the current battle is solely over whether federal funds can be used for such research.”
- Advancing Stem Cell Science Without Destroying Human Life - January 2007 (Updated April 2007)
“Private-sector human embryonic stem cell research has been and continues to be permissible without restriction in the U.S.” and “there is no Presidential ban on human embryonic stem cell research.”