Abstract
Many health care issues generate minimal passion, promoting benign commentary and support from the various stakeholders involved. Stem cell research does not fall into this category, and on the contrary, embryonic stem cell (ESC) research has continued to foster controversy and emotion. Since 1998, which marked the first successful laboratory isolation of ESCs, this research continues to ignite moral, ethical, and legal debate over its efficacy. The focus of this policy analysis is to introduce the issues, examine and address the various perspectives that surround ESC research, and present policy options and/or solutions that may be used to successfully create a policy consensus regarding this much debated topic.