Proposed New Guidelines Could Halt Stem-Cell Studies Already Under Way, Scientists Say

Many scientists and other advocates of studies involving human embryonic stem cells had expected the pace of such research to quicken after President Obama signed an order in March easing restrictions on the types of studies eligible for federal funds. But some now are questioning whether proposed new ethical guidelines, which the National Institutes of Health released for comment last month, might have the opposite effect, The Washington Post reported.

While ethical questions have been raised before about studies involving some of the stem-cell lines eligible for federal research money under strict limits that President George W. Bush imposed on stem-cell research in 2001, most of those studies have already passed close ethical scrutiny, the advocates say. But the studies “don’t necessarily meet every letter of the new guidelines,” Lawrence S. Goldstein, director of the stem-cell program at the University of California at San Diego, told the newspaper. “We’d have to throw everything out and start all over again.”

George Q. Daley, a stem-cell researcher at the Harvard Medical School, said that applying the new guidelines retroactively “is essentially moving the goal post.” Most of the stem-cell lines eligible for federally supported studies now — along with many other lines created using private funds — would not be acceptable under the NIH’s draft guidelines, he said.

Raynard S. Kington, the agency’s acting director, said he was aware of the concerns but could not comment further until officials have reviewed all public comments. The comment period ends on Tuesday, and the final guidelines are expected by early July. —Charles Huckabee