As the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate review the federal budget, one step should be skipped — adding the Dickey-Wicker amendment to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) appropriation bill. This amendment, which prohibits the creation or destruction of embryos for research purposes, has been inserted into the DHHS appropriations bill for the last 12 years – effectively circumventing the traditional bill-passing process and inserting policy into finances.
Why is this bad? First it evades customary legislative process by linking policy to the funding and not passing a bill outright. No debate or discussion on the amendment happens. I doubt that with the current Democrat majority in both Houses it would indeed pass. Yet, it’s still allowed to ride on the appropriation bill for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). And the president signs the bill because it is wrapped up with billions of dollars of federal funding.
Second, it limits research on in vitro fertilization and embryonic stem cell line creation to private industry. Wouldn’t we be better served as a public supporting this research through the NIH where peer-review exists and all grant information is released to the general public? The NIH is recognized worldwide as the leader and model for biomedical research. It requires all research to be reviewed through internal review boards and projects that it funds must be proven to be ethically sound and appropriate. Wouldn’t we want this for embryonic research? Earlier this year, after President Obama issued an executive order expanding NIH support for the exploration of human stem cell research, the NIH created a board which will review all of the human embryonic stem cell lines to determine if they were created ethically and can be used for federally funded research. Wouldn’t it be easier to regulate the process creating these lines instead of reviewing them afterwards?
The Dickey-Wicker Amendment was first attached during 1996, when the Republicans retained a majority in Congress. Democrats control Congress now, but the amendment still remains. Lawmakers from both parties allow this ban to continue to be placed on the NIH appropriations bill each year. Even our current president, who claims to support stem cell research, isn’t willing to take on this political fight.
Why are we afraid to regulate embryonic research?
Kirstin Matthews is a fellow in science and technology policy at the Baker Institute. Her research focuses on the intersection between traditional biomedical research and public policy. Matthews’ current projects include the Baker Institute International Stem Cell Policy Program, the Civic Scientist Lecture Series and policy studies in research and development funding, genomics and climate change.