ABSTRACT
The international legal framework surrounding the importation and use of human embryonic stem cells deserves mention due to the diversity of legislation originating in Europe, Asia, and Australia. Ranging from the very limiting legislation coming out of Germany to the science-friendly framework set forth by the United Kingdom, these parameters will certainly have an effect on the type and scope of research permitted. In the USA, no federal laws broadly govern the use of human embryonic stem cells in research, and those laws that do exist only affect federally-funded research, while they do not apply to research funded by private sources. Since 1996, public funding of embryo research has been regulated by federal law commonly referred to as the Dickey Amendment. The PHS agreement with WiCell is an agreement between the US Public Health Service, the parent organization of NIH, and WiCell Research Institute, the University of Wisconsin-Madison research institute charged with the Wisconsin lines of human embryonic stem cells.
