Current Federal Law and Policy 
47 
cisely how much privately funded work using human embry- 
onic stem cells has been undertaken in the past few years, but 
some general figures are available. The most recent and thor- 
ough survey available, based on figures from 2002,^® suggests 
that approximately 10 companies in the United States were 
actively engaged in embryonic stem cell work, employing 
several himdred researchers and, cumulatively over the past 
several years, spending over $70 million in the field, which is 
well over twice what the NIH has so far spent Those in- 
volved in privately-funded research in the field, however, 
generally do not see private funding as a substitute for federal 
funds, but would much prefer that the field had the opportu- 
nity to benefit from both. They also argue that restrictions on 
federal funds, and the controversy surrounding the subject, act 
to dissuade potential investors from entering the field, and 
thereby have a “chilling effect” on private as well as publicly 
funded research.^® 
Moreover, just as federal policy can affect privately con- 
ducted research, so too a number of states have enacted poli- 
cies affecting stem cell research, ranging from all-out prohibi- 
tions of such research to official statements of support and 
positive encouragement.* The status of such research, and the 
conditions to which it is subject, can vary dramatically from 
state to state, independent of federal funding policy. 
VI. CONCLUSION 
The administration’s policy on the funding of embryonic 
stem cell research rests on several moral and ethical-legal 
principles, set upon the reality of existing law: 
1. The lav\r\ The Dickey Amendment, which the President 
is required to enforce. 
2. The principle underlying the law: 'The conviction, voiced 
by the administration, a majority of the Congress, and some 
portion of the public, that federal taxpayer dollars should not 
’ State policies regarding embryo research are detailed in Appendix E. 
PRE -PUBLICATION VERSION 
