by Christine Vestal, Stateline.org Staff Writer

In the 10 years since University of Wisconsin scientists announced they had harvested potentially life-saving stem cells from human embryos, the bioethical dilemma presented by the science has stymied the federal government, split the GOP and prompted debate in nearly every statehouse in the country.

Now, as the pace of new scientific discoveries in the field quickens, seven states — California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Wisconsin — are leading the world in financial and political support for stem-cell research, and Massachusetts is poised to join them .

Three — Iowa, Massachusetts and Missouri — have made the research legal, but not offered state funding, while six — Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, North Dakota and South Dakota — have taken the path of most developed countries and restricted the studies.

President Bush and other opponents argue that stem-cell research that results in the destruction of human embryos is immoral. Scientists, patients and their advocates seek the freedom and resources to conduct this embryonic research they say could cure diseases that affect millions of Americans.

With powerful forces on both sides, Washington has remained stalled.

“The lack of federal leadership leaves a vacuum that states are trying to fill on a very piecemeal basis,” said Michigan state Rep. Andy Meisner (D), who has to tried to repeal his state’s ban on the research for the past four years.

Bush said in his State of the Union Address Jan. 28 that groundbreaking new stem-cell research in which ordinary skin cells could replace the use of human embryos “has the potential to move us beyond the divisive debates of the past.”

But far from resolving the moral quandary, last November’s highly publicized breakthrough has escalated the discussion. Scientists around the world quickly cautioned that years of work remained to perfect the promising new technique, and continuing parallel work on embryonic stem cells is an essential part of that process. While they unanimously agreed the new skin-cell work is groundbreaking, scientists said many questions remain, including whether the method can be safely used for human therapies.

Even if federal funding for the new skin-cell studies is expanded, as Bush suggested in his address, scientists say they also would need money to continue embryonic studies.

Since August 2001, when Bush allowed limited federal funding of the embryonic stem-cell research, Congress has been unable to open up more federal dollars, despite pressure from the scientific community and support from a majority of Americans. Congressional attempts to ban the science also have been unsuccessful, making the research legal unless prohibited by state law.

In January 2004, New Jersey was the first to underwrite embryonic stem-cell research, appropriating $10 million and taking on a role historically held by the federal government’s esteemed National Institutes of Health (NIH). California came next with its November 2004 voter-approved fund of $3 billion and immediately outstripped all other investors.

Other states followed. In the last two years, states have distributed some $230 million in grants — more than three times as much as the federal government spent on embryonic stem-cell science in the same period — and there has been no shortage of scientists seeking the funding. Over the next decade, states are committed to spending nearly $5 billion on the science and Massachusetts may add another billion.

Since 2001, nearly every state has bitterly debated the question of whether the work should be banned for moral reasons or supported for its potential to cure many of the world’s chronic and debilitating diseases.

Also at stake in deciding whether to support the research is the nation’s longstanding leadership role in medical science and states’ eagerness to claim a piece of an exploding new field that could bring high-paying jobs and big investments in universities and businesses.

“State policies will determine which states will become magnets for high-tech research and which will become irradiated zones for the same kind of research,” said Daniel Perry of the Alliance for Aging Research, a citizen advocacy group for stem cell research.

National polls indicate a majority of Americans approve of the research, which uses cells found in four-day old human embryos that can transform into cells that form tissue from any organ of the body. Scientists say these so-called pluripotent stem cells hold the key to discovering the causes and cures for conditions such as juvenile diabetes, blindness, spinal paralysis, Lou Gherig’s, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

Read the complete backgrounder, including a time line of happenings in the stem cell debate, a glossary of stem-cell related scientific terms, a summary of ethical questions raised by advances in stem cell research and a detailed description of the evolution and current state of stem-cell related state policies.