In September 1999, the National Bioethics Advisory Commission (NBAC) submit
ted its report, "Ethical issues in human stem cell research." The report re
commends federal funding for stem cell research involving human embryos rem
aining after infertility treatment. It also suggests that at some later tim
e, it may be appropriate for there to be federal funding for this same rese
arch using embryos expressly created for research purposes. This essay comp
ares this recommendation to a similar recommendation reached 5 years earlie
r by the Human Embryo Research Panel of the National Institutes of Health.
The NBAC recommendation is found to be much better packaged relative to the
(contentious) goal of securing federal funding for this type of research.
The merits of this goal are not discussed here. Instead, disappointment is
expressed with the absence of any serious discussion of the ethical issues
raised by the future possibility of stem cell research using research embry
os. The report's silence on this question is significant given its promise
to promote public debate on the profound ethical issues regarding human ste
m cell research.