
State-funded stem cell research matters
The National Institutes of Health has enforced three distinct federal funding policies for human embryonic stem-cell research through the administrations of Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama. In 2001, George W. Bush placed restrictions on the use of federal funds for human embryonic stem-cell research, leading some state governments to fund the research themselves. California established the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, and other states followed with various funding mechanisms of their own.