Media Malpractice In Reporting President Obama Lifts Embryonic Stem Cell Restrictions

More than a few media outlets have been misrepresenting precisely what President Obama did today, but that's completely par for the course. President Obama lifted restrictions in place on embryonic stem cell research (ESCR) put in place when President Bush first extended federal funding for such research. Much of what I wrote a month ago is still wholly appropriate and relevant.

There was never a ban on ESCR. It was just portrayed that way by those opposed to the Bush Administration policy. Even the NIH, which administered the policy sets the score straight:

On August 9th, 2001, Former President George W. Bush announced that federal funds may be awarded for research using human embryonic stem cells if the following criteria are met:

* The derivation process (which begins with the destruction of the embryo) was initiated prior to 9:00 P.M. EDT on August 9, 2001.
* The stem cells must have been derived from an embryo that was created for reproductive purposes and was no longer needed.
* Informed consent must have been obtained for the donation of the embryo and that donation must not have involved financial inducements.

NIH's Role

The NIH, as the Federal government's leading biomedical research organization, is implementing Former President Bush's policy. The NIH funds research scientists to conduct research on existing human embryonic stem cells and to explore the enormous promise of these unique cells, including their potential to produce breakthrough therapies and cures.

Investigators from 14 laboratories in the United States, India, Israel, Singapore, Sweden, and South Korea have derived stem cells from 71 individual, genetically diverse blastocysts. These derivations meet Former President Bush's criteria for use in federally funded human embryonic stem cell research. The NIH has consulted with each of the investigators who have derived these cells. These scientists are working with the NIH and the research community to establish a research infrastructure to ensure the successful handling and the use of these cells in the laboratory.

The media has engaged in more than a little disingenous reporting on the part of the media that makes it appear that there was a ban on ESCR, when there was never a ban. It has a lot to do with misreporting on how Obama is repealing a ban on federal funding, when Bush actually was the first President to provide ESCR federal funding within limits.

Those limitations are being removed.

There were no limitations on private funding for embryonic stem cell research, and research on adult stem cells and cord blood stem cells were unfettered by any limitations as well.

The smart money has gone into adult stem cells (ASCR) and cord blood stem cell research (CBSCR), which aren't affected by the moral and ethical dilemnas posed by embryonic stem cell research.

The moral and ethical quandaries posed by ESCR need to be discussed, but the media would rather focus on the absolute lie that Obama is lifting a ban, which is how McClatchy is reporting things. And UPI. And US News and World Report.

No one has been stopped from using ESCR private funding research, and yet the ESCR research hasn't yielded promising results the way that ASCR has. That isn't to say that ESCR can't yield some kind of benefit - technological tools and processes that can improve ASCR or CBSCR or even direct new therapies based on ESCR. To date, that hasn't happened. In fact, the opposite has occurred - adult stem cells are being coaxed to act like embryonic stem cells without the moral and ethical quandaries.

I happen to agree that part of the reason for lifting the limitations now has as much to do with the economy and need to shift attention away from Obama's flailing economic and foreign policy performances as it is about ESCR.