FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 12, 2012
Contact: Mallory Quigley, 202-223-8073
Leading Researchers Turn to Promise of Adult Stem Cell Research
Washington, DC – A new report released today by the Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI) analyzes the history and trajectory of funding for stem cell research by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), revealing that the scientific community now views morally unproblematic alternatives to embryonic stem cells as the best hope for progress toward effective treatments and therapies.
Launched in 2004 as a response to the Bush Administration’s unwillingness to fully support embryonic stem cell research on moral grounds, the CIRM funneled $75.7.million in California state taxpayer funds to embryonic stem cell research projects in its first year. But that funding pattern has now decisively changed. The CLI report argues that CIRM’s growing preference to fund ethical stem cell projects is evidence of the scientific community’s acceptance that the best hope for progress lies in the funding and pursuit of morally unproblematic alternatives like adult stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells.
“A decade ago researchers, media, and Hollywood alike dismissed moral and ethical concerns to hail stem cell research using, and destroying, human embryos, as the ‘only hope’ for developing efficacious therapies,” said Chuck Donovan, president of the Charlotte Lozier Institute. “But despite the millions of dollars spent on this research, cures brought about by embryonic stem cells have continued to prove elusive, while adult stem cell research applications have exploded. As the leading funder of stem cell research, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine has made grant decisions that show where the industry sees promise. In the past six years, where that promise lies has become increasingly clear: ethical adult stem cell research.”
The full report can be read online here.
The Charlotte Lozier Institute was launched in 2011 as the education and research arm of Susan B. Anthony List. The CLI is a hub for research and public policy analysis on some of the most pressing issues facing the United States and nations around the world. The CLI website features commentaries, reviews and blog posts by an array of policy experts and scholars whose work covers statistics, medicine, bioethics, health care and law.
The Charlotte Lozier Institute is named for a feminist physician known for her commitment to the sanctity of human life and equal career and educational opportunities for women. She was an associate of Susan B. Anthony and her capsule biography can be found at lozierinstitute.org.
