Research paper on stem cell research legislation and the related legal

On stem cell legislation and the related legal issues - Research Paper Example It helps in studying of degenerative diseases such as leukemia as well the development of drugs that can treat many complicated diseases currently without cure (Liras, 2010). This paper will explore stem cell research legislation in regards to its history, ethics, future and related legal issues. History of Stem Cell Research legislation in the United States The history of ESC research in US is closely associated with the abortion debate that has been around for over three decades. As early as 1973, the US Supreme Court legalized abortion in the case Roe v. Wade in its decision through the argument that abortion is a private matter between a doctor and a woman. However, the legalization of abortion also led to banning of federal funding on research touching on embryos or tissues. This ban did not affect the private sector which continued in the research and saw the rise of infertility research and other related technologies. Conducting research is quite an expensive affair and much o f the fruits of research being enjoyed currently in the world have taken the concerted efforts of both the private and public sectors. Therefore, much of the debate on ESC revolves around federal funding which can be very instrumental in achieving technological breakthroughs that seem untenable (Wertz, 2002). After the Roe v. Wade case ruling by the US Supreme Court that legalized abortion, the Congress imposed temporal moratorium on the funding of ESC research and allied technologies. This action by the Congress was taken so that regulatory bodies could be formed which in turn would come up with guidelines on the way forward. Prior to this ruling in 1974, there were no guidelines on which research to be supported with taxpayers’ money from the federal government. Shortly after this case (1974), a commission was formed (National Commission NC) which would be involved in the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research (PHSBBR). The first order of busines s for the NC was development of ethical guidelines on ESC research which extended the same for fetuses and abortion. In order to make lighten its work, the NC later recommended the formation of Ethics Advisory Board (EAB). The work of EAB in turn was to continually review protocols enacted by the NC with regards to ESC related research. When the guidelines were put in place, a de facto moratorium was arrived at which allowed simple non-therapeutic research on embryos to continue (Hall, 2008; Wertz, 2002). Research continued in non-therapeutic ESC research with federal funding although the private sector was doing its own research in ESC. Outlawing of federal funding for ESC research really hampered its progress while other developed countries were slowly getting ahead of US. The de facto moratorium developed by the Congress ensured that basic research was carried out which could not present a major breakthrough without attracting public outcry. Most of the findings and outcomes of t hese basic researches could not by any chance lead to the treatment of diseases which is one of the promising prospects of ESC research (Skene, 2010). Proceedings of the private ESC research came into limelight around 2001 when it was announced that human embryos had been cloned from adult cells. These embryos would then be used to derive stem cells matching