After many years of divisive politics over embryonic stem cell research, the National Institutes of Health – following President Obama’s directive of March 9 – has issued draft stem cell research guidelines and is soliciting comments on them.

The Center for Genetics and Society believes the NIH guidelines strike the right balance needed to allow stem cell research to move forward in a socially responsible manner.

The deadline for comments is Friday, May 26. We encourage all concerned about the socially responsible governance of stem cell and other human biotechnologies to make their opinions heard. You can read the guidelines and submit a statement of any length at the NIH website.

A summary of the comments CGS is submitting to the NIH is shown below. Here are links to related items you might find of interest:

• CGS’s full comments on the NIH draft stem cell guidelines [PDF]
• CGS’s April 17 press statement on the guidelines
• The April 27 San Francisco Chronicle op-ed on the guidelines by CGS policy analyst Jesse Reynolds
• A compilation of selected reactions to the draft guidelines, both pro and con.

We are gratified that the polarization and controversy around stem cell research may be drawing to a close. Formal approval of the NIH draft guidelines would be an important step in this direction.

Summary of CGS statement on the NIH draft stem cell guidelines

We are encouraged by and support the draft guidelines for human embryonic stem cell research issued by the National Institutes of Health. We believe they represent an informed and thoughtful approach that will foster embryonic stem cell research, while ensuring that it proceeds in a manner consistent with social and ethical values shared by the great majority of Americans.

We support the expansion of federal funding for research involving stem cells derived from embryos created but not needed for assisted reproduction. We likewise support the provisions for fully informed consent on the part of potential donors of embryos for stem cell research, and the prohibition of inducements to donate embryos.

We also concur that federal funding for stem cell research involving somatic cell nuclear transfer, parthenogenesis, and human/animal chimeric embryos should be forgone at this time. These procedures raise many serious social and ethical questions that have not been resolved.

We urge speedy approval of these draft guidelines as the stated policies of the U.S. government. They will allow needed medical research to proceed in a responsible manner, and will set a precedent for careful public oversight of additional new human biotechnologies.