America’s Stem Cell Mess

It’s hard not to feel sorry for American embryonic stem cell (ESC) researchers. Over the dozen years since the cells were first derived, they’ve been expected to meet federal rules that change with each president, research guidelines from the National Academy of Sciences as interpreted by their institutions, and separate requirements from state and private funders. While the extremely restrictive policies of the Bush administration caused a number of alternative funders to step up to the plate, each comes with its own rules, restrictions, and reporting requirements. Labs with a mix of federal and private funding are required to account for the monies separately, leading to the somewhat absurd practice of color-coding lab instruments and workspace so that nothing paid for with federal money is used to do something federal policies prohibit.

The picture brightened last year when President Obama lifted his predecessor’s restrictions, allowing the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to release new guidelines for an expanded ESC research program. But this August, a judge issued a preliminary injunction putting that entire program on hold. NIH has appealed the...