multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, Parkinson’s
disease, sickle cell anemia, stroke, and other debili-
tating conditions and diseases affect millions of peo-
ple in the United States and disproportionately af-
fect African American and other minority commu-
nities.
(2) Because of the tremendous lifesaving poten-
tial of human embryonic stem cell research, there is
a need to eliminate barriers to such research created
by appropriations law, including section 510 of the
Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services,
and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations
Act, 2001 (as enacted by section 1(a) of Public Law
106–554). That section prohibits the use of funds
made available in that Act for ‘‘the creation of a
human embryo or embryos for research purposes’’ or
‘‘research in which a human embryo or embryos are
destroyed, discarded, or knowingly subjected to risk
of injury or death’’.
(3) Past investments in biomedical research
have resulted in better health, an improved quality
of life for all people in the United States, and a re-
duction in national health care expenditures.
(4) The Nation’s commitment to biomedical re-
search has expanded the base of scientific knowledge
about health and disease and revolutionized the
practice of medicine.
(5) Many people in the United States face seri-
ous and life-threatening health problems, both acute
and chronic.
(6) Neurodegenerative diseases of the elderly,
such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, threat-
en to destroy the lives of millions of people in the
United States.
(7) Cancer remains a comprehensive threat to
any tissue or organ of the body at any age and re-
mains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality.
(8) The extent of psychiatric and neurological
diseases poses considerable challenges in under-
standing the workings of the brain and nervous sys-
tem.
(9) Diabetes, including insulin dependent and
non-insulin dependent diabetes, afflicts 16,000,000
people in the United States and places them at risk
for acute and chronic complications, including blind-
ness, kidney failure, atherosclerosis, and nerve de-
generation.
(10) Recent scientific developments show that
human stem cell research based on ethically respon-
sible stem cell sources may lead to exponential im-
provements in the treatment of many terminal and
debilitating conditions, from cancer to Parkinson’s
disease to Alzheimer’s disease to diabetes to heart
disease.
(11) World renowned scientists are leaving the
United States to conduct research in nations that
support and fund human embryonic stem cell re-
search.
SEC. 3. STUDIES USING HUMAN PLURIPOTENT STEM
CELLS.
The Director of the National Institutes of Health
shall conduct or support research using pluripotent stem
cells derived from human embryos that were created for
the purposes of fertility treatment and were in excess of
the clinical need of the individuals seeking such treatment.
SEC. 4. REPEAL OF PROHIBITION OF FUNDING FOR CER-
TAIN RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMAN EM-
BRYOS.
Section 510 of the Departments of Labor, Health and
Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act, 2001 (as enacted by section 1(a) of
Public Law 106–554) (prohibiting the use of funds for
certain research involving human embryos), is hereby re-
pealed.
Æ