USA

USA

Die aktuellen "2009 Guidelines on Human Stem Cell Research” inklusive der "Executive Order 13505: Removing Barriers to Responsible Scientific Research Involving Human Stem Cells". Online Version

Dokumentation der US-amerikanischen Debatte auf der Homepage des National Institute of Health. Online Version

Zur Rechtsentwicklungsgeschichte:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (1999): HHS Fact Sheet: Stem Cell Research, 19. Januar 1999: "The Department of Health and Human Services has concluded that current law permits federal funds to be used for research utilizing human pluripotent stem cells. This decision is consistent with existing congressional restrictions on human embryo research and with federal law and regulations governing human fetal tissue research. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) plans to move forward in a careful and deliberate fashion to develop rigorous guidelines that address the special ethical, legal, and moral issues surrounding this research. The NIH will not be funding any research using pluripotent stem cells until guidelines are developed and widely disseminated to the research community and an oversight process is in place. [...]

After a thorough analysis of the law, DHHS concluded that the congressional prohibition on the use of DHHS funds for certain types of embryo research does not apply to research utilizing human pluripotent stem cells because such cells are not an embryo as defined by statute. Moreover, because pluripotent stem cells do not have the capacity to develop into a human being, they cannot be considered human embryos consistent with the commonly accepted or scientific understanding of that term. The legal opinion also clarified that pluripotent stem cells derived from non-living fetuses would fall within the legal definition of human fetal tissue and are, therefore, subject to certain Federal restrictions on the use of such tissue."

Stellungnahme der National Bioethics Advisory Commission: Ethical Issues in Human Stem Cell Research, September 1999:

Executive Summary Online Version

Volume I: Report and Recommendations of the National Bioethics Advisory Commission Online Version

Volume II: Commissioned Papers Online Version

Volume III: Religious Perspectives Online Version

Am 25. August 2000 waren nach ausführlichem öffentlichen und politischen Diskurs sowie nach Beratung durch die National Bioethics Advisory Commission (NBAC) die "Guidelines for Research Using Human Pluripotent Stem Cells" der NIH in Kraft getreten. Danach war es weiterhin verboten, Stammzellen aus Embryonen mit NIH-Mitteln zu gewinnen. NIH-Mittel durften jedoch unter bestimmten Auflagen zur Forschung an bereits etablierten embryonalen Stammzellen verwendet werden, insofern diese Stammzellen aus Maßnahmen im Zusammenhang mit Infertilitätsbehandlungen stammen und die informierte Einwilligung (informed consent) der Spender vorlag. Die Richtlinie sah ein Antragsverfahren bei der einzurichtenden "Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Review Group" vor und schloss die Verwendung von embryonalen Stammzellen für bestimmte Forschungsgebiete aus (z. B. Erzeugung eines menschlichen Embryos, Schaffung von Tier-Mensch-Hybriden). Das "therapeutische Klonen" und die damit verbundenen Kerntransfermethode, wie sie der o. g. britische Bericht "Stem Cell Research: Medical Progress with Responsibility" vorsieht, blieben damit weiterhin von der Bundesfinanzierung ausgeschlossen.

Richtlinien des National Institutes of Health (NIH): Guidelines for Research Using Human Pluripotent Stem Cells, 25, August 2000:

Guidelines for Research Using Human Pluripotent Stem Cells, 25, August 2000. Online Version

Gesetzesvorlage im US-Kongress: Stem Cell Research Act of 2000 (Introduced in the Senate). Online Version