2 
Current Federal Law and Policy 
Any overview of the state of human stem cell research un- 
der the current federal funding policy must begin with a thor- 
ough understanding of that policy. This is not as simple as it 
may sound. From the moment of its first annoimcement, on 
August 9, 2001, the policy has been misunderstood (and at 
times misrepresented) by some among both its detractors and 
its advocates. Its moral foimdation, its political context, its 
practical implications, and the most basic facts regarding the 
policy’s implementation have all been subjects of heated dis- 
pute and profound confusion. Whether one agrees with the 
policy or not, it is important to understand it as it was pro- 
pounded, accurately and in its own terms, in the light also of 
the historical and political contexts in which it was put for- 
ward. 
This chapter attempts to place the policy in its proper con- 
text, to articulate its moral, legal, and political underpinnings 
(as put forward by its authors and advocates), to offer an over- 
view of its implementation thus far, and to begin to describe 
its ramifications for researchers and for medicine. By articulat- 
ing the policy in its own terms, we intend neither to endorse it 
nor to find fault with it.* Indeed, in the next chapter we present 
Some Members of the Council oppose the current policy, some Members 
support it. Yet the descriptive account that we offer here aspires to be seen 
as accurate and fair, regardless of where one personally stands on the issue. 
Nearly all Members of this Council recognize, as we said in our report Hu- 
man Cloning and Human Dignity, that "all parties to this debate have some- 
thing vital to defend, something vital not only to themselves but also to their 
21 
