NY stem cell research nears dangerous line
By Jesse Reynolds,
Newsday
| 01. 23. 2009
Stem cell research may soon make headlines again. The restrictions on federal funding imposed by former President George W. Bush are expected to be lifted. But here in New York, a different type of stem cell controversy is brewing.
Since 2007, the state has managed a large stem cell research funding program of its own, second only to that of California. While it has quietly been issuing millions of dollars in grants for a wide range of work, the program is considering crossing an unprecedented - and dangerous - ethical line.
Most of the debates around stem cell research have focused on the use of embryos left over in fertility clinics. Hopeful parents undergoing assisted reproduction often end up with more embryos than they need, and these could be used in medical research. Bush's policy limited federal funding for this line of work; President Barack Obama is expected to lift that restriction very soon.
The issue in New York is different. If stem cells could be derived from embryos made using cloning techniques, they would have all the genes of...
Related Articles
By Gay Pasley, Essence | 09.04.2026
That is what makes the unfolding case of McKenna West so important. It is more than a disagreement about abortion or a dispute over a surrogacy contract. It asks whether an agreement signed before a pregnancy can become authority...
By Ava Kofman, The New Yorker | 09.15.2026
A WOMAN WHO ACTS AS A SURROGATE, carrying a child for someone else, is said to be going on a “journey.”
Kayla Elliott started her surrogacy journey at the age of twenty-six. She gave birth to a baby girl for...
By Maia Hibbett, Wired | 09.09.2026
THE INSTAGRAM POST, precision-guided by sex and age, had zeroed in on its target. Yuchen Tu is a conservatory-trained viola player from Chongqing, China, a lover of science fiction, and an aspiring member of the US Army Reserve Officer Training...
By Nathalie Rozanes, +972 Magazine | 09.04.2026
Earlier this year, Nitza Shmueli posted on Facebook to make an unusual request about her deceased son. “I, Barel’s mother, am looking for a woman who wants to conceive a child from Barel’s sperm, a woman who wants to gain...
