Human Embryo Research

In 1996, a ban on the use of US Department of Health and Human Services funds for research on the creation of human embryos and research that involved the injury or destruction of human embryos was signed into law. This ban was partially reversed in 2000 when the National Institutes of Health announced it would fund selective research on human pluripotent stem cells. Given the potential benefits to society, research using human embryos is an issue that deserves additional consideration. The American Academy of Pediatrics believes that, under certain conditions, research using human embryos and pluripotent stem cells is of sufficient scientific importance that the National Institutes of Health should fund it and that federal oversight is morally preferable to the currently unregulated private sector approach.