Government Must Support All Forms Of Ethical Stem Cell Research

Stem Cell Research Advancement Represents Progress

WASHINGTON, D.C. – With today's announcement of another stem cellresearch advancement, Energy and Commerce Committee Vice Chair DianaDeGette (D-CO), chief architect of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, offered the following statement today:

"I applaud the most recent advance in stem cell research. Somatic cellnuclear transfer (SCNT) is not reproductive cloning. As this researchshows, the use of SCNT will help to fulfill the promise of embryonicstem cell research.

"All of the recent research advances represent the vast promise of stemcell research. Given the national commitment to ethical stem cellresearch, we need a robust national stem cell research policy andstrong ethical oversight.

"The federal government must support all methods of ethical stem cellresearch. Allowing politics to trump science is a disservice toscientific progress and hinders the potential development of numerouscures that will most likely result from the greatest variety ofmethods, including embryonic stem cell research."