IN THE past 15 years, forward strides in stem cell research have incited a vigorous ethical debate among scientists. This debate began to gain momentum in the public sphere until it was rudely interrupted by the fateful attacks of Sept. 11. While foreign policy is no doubt the most pressing contemporary issue for Americans, the debate over stem cells should not sit in the backseat anymore. The current public debate, which is moderate at best, should be revived.
On Aug. 9, 2001, President Bush issued an executive order restricting federal funding of embryonic stem cell research to stem cell lines created before that date. Scientists and researchers in the field almost unanimously agree that these lines are insufficient. However, the president's personal ethics sought to preserve the dignity of an embryo, and thus an ethical debate raged on. Perhaps what the mainstream debate best revealed was how little anyone knew about stem cells -- the constant references made to abortion encapsulate this widespread misunderstanding.
Since then, occasional media coverage and ambitious public awareness efforts by organizations such as the National Parkinson's Foundation have been moderately successful in creating an appreciation for the potential that lies in stem cell research. This appreciation is reflected in a recent series of polls. In a CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll on Aug. 7, 56 percent of adults nationwide responded that the "federal government should
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