Final Report (all chapters)

principles of good governance as federal regulatory agencies or administrative law judges are
required to do.
5.1.5 Federal Funding of Embryo Research
A major obstacle to improving the safety and effectiveness of ART treatments and to
conducting advanced medical research is the Congressional ban on federal funding of embryo
research. This prohibition came in the form of an amendment to the Health and Human Services
Appropriation Bill of 1996, the so-called Dickey-Wicker Amendment. The amendment has been
reauthorized every year since its introduction, and there is no indication that Congress will lift
this ban soon. 32
Some commentators regard this ban as the only ethical position consistent with the
government’s strong preference for the respect of nascent human life. This may seem at first a
coherent attitude. On closer examination, however, this policy also has produced ethical
contradictions. If respect for nascent human life is of paramount importance, it cannot be
acceptable for the U.S. government to simply ignore privately funded experimentation on human
embryos. The U.S. government has not legalized or otherwise endorsed privately funded
research, but this lack of enthusiasm certainly has not prevented many biotech companies from
conducting research on human embryos, activities that a consistent ethical position should
explicitly condemn.
From a practical standpoint, the ban on funding human embryo research has had some
perverse consequences. In all likelihood, the Dickey-Wicker Amendment has kept medical
technology from improving ART success rates, and therefore has contributed to the creation and
destruction of more human embryos than absolutely necessary. It has also undermined efforts to
better understand the causes of infertility, and probably hindered the development of more
effective ART techniques. These unintended consequences have most likely increased rather
than diminished the instrumental use of human embryos.
Perhaps most importantly, with this ban, the government has lost its ability to oversee
embryo research in the private sector. Elected officials may still find that the Dickey-Wicker
Amendment is the only defensible ethical position in this matter, but they should come to this
conclusion after taking into account both the intended and unintended consequences of this
position.
5.1.6 The National Organ Transplantation Act
The National Organ Transplantation Act of 1984 makes it “unlawful for any person to
knowingly acquire, receive, or otherwise transfer any human organ for valuable consideration for
use in human transplantation if the transfer affects interstate commerce.” 33 The act defines the
meaning of “human organ” in very broad terms. It includes, among other things, fetal tissues
32
33
As, for example, in the most recent appropriation bill, S. 2810, Sec. 510.
See 42 USCS 274e (2004)(a).
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