Stem Cell Research and Conditional Federal Funding: Do State Laws Allowing More Extensive Research Pose a Problem for Federalism?

Abstract

Aside from this moral debate, an issue central to stem cell research is the source of the funding that fuels it. Stem cell research is an expensive process requiring advanced facilities, precise laboratory conditions, and well-educated researchers. "Without public funding of basic research on stem cells, progress toward medical therapies is likely to be hindered. The likelihood that researchers will look to the federal government for support is not one that has escaped notice. President Clinton issued an executive order that forbade the use of federal funds in research projects that created human embryos with the intent of destroying them. Later, on August 9, 2001, President Bush issued an executive order limiting the use of federal funds to research on the sixty stem cell lines that already existed at the time of his announcement. These initial acts raise the questions of whether the government will take additional action to regulate stem cell research through funding limitations and whether such action will pass constitutional muster if challenged.

This Comment will attempt to address the aforementioned issues. Part II contains an overview of what stem cells are, how stem cells are useful for research purposes, and which ethical issues are raised in a discussion about stem cell research. Part III presents the pertinent federal and state regulations that directly curtail or encourage stem cell research. Part IV examines whether the Constitution or the interests of federalism prohibit Congress from using its taxing and spending powers to effectively limit stem cell research. After concluding that Congress does indeed have the constitutional power to regulate stem cell research, Part V will outline the likely social ramifications of exercising such a power.