Stem Cell Veto Makes Private Funding More Essential

JIM LEHRER:

And now, how this veto could impact the state of stem-cell research itself. NewsHour health correspondent Susan Dentzer is here for that.

Susan, welcome.

SUSAN DENTZER, NewsHour Health Correspondent:

Thank you, Jim.

JIM LEHRER:

First, just in general terms, what does this veto, the failure of this bill to become law as it likely is not going to happen now, how does that affect embryonic stem-cell research that's ongoing right now as we speak?

SUSAN DENTZER:

Well, that's, of course, the question many across the country are asking. But as you suggest, there is a lot of research now under way under the current federal policy paid for with federal funds.

When President Bush set forth his policy in 2001, he actually opened the window for that research to begin to take place that closed under the Clinton administration while the ethical issues were sorted out.

But starting in August 2001, federal money could flow to researchers who were willing to use stem cell colonies that had been created before the president gave his speech in August 2001. That's complicated, but that's how it played out.

Over that period of time, we've come to find that there are 22 of those viable colonies that are authorized lines, as they're called, stem-cell lines. Those can be used for federally funded research.

There's a national stem-cell bank that was created at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, which was the place that the colonies, human stem-cell colonies were first created. You can go there and get a vial of stem cells. You can buy it. You can go into your lab and research with federal funds.

And to date, about $90 million of federal funding through the National Institutes of Health has been made available to researchers doing that.

JIM LEHRER:

And nothing that happened today is going to change that?

SUSAN DENTZER:

Nothing at all.