Burgin Eileen
Department of Political Science, University of Vermont, The Old Mill, Burlington, VT 05405, USA.
Politics Life Sci. 2010 Sep;29(2):73-95. doi: 10.2990/29_2_73.
In response to former President George W. Bush's funding limitations on human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research, California voters in 2004 passed Proposition 71, the most expansive state-funded medical research initiative in United States history. This study examines California's experiment in the life sciences, a particularly fitting analysis now as President Barack Obama has freed up additional federal funding for hESC research. In addition to exploring the general pitfalls of states, rather than the federal government, serving as principal players on hESC science and the perceived flaws in California's program, the analysis considers the strengths of state activism and of California's enterprise. On balance, given the Bush administration's policy on hESC research, the U.S. benefitted from state innovation. Moreover, even with the new federal regulatory policy on hESC research, California should be able to mesh its program with the federal initiative and remain a prime mover in this arena. The essay draws on informal interviews with key actors in California and on Capitol Hill in 2008 and 2009.
为应对前总统乔治·W·布什对人类胚胎干细胞（hESC）研究的资金限制，2004年加利福尼亚州选民通过了第71号提案，这是美国历史上规模最大的由州政府资助的医学研究倡议。本研究考察了加利福尼亚州在生命科学领域的尝试，鉴于巴拉克·奥巴马总统已为人类胚胎干细胞研究提供了额外的联邦资金，现在进行这样的分析尤为恰当。除了探究由州政府而非联邦政府充当人类胚胎干细胞科学主要参与者的普遍缺陷以及加利福尼亚州计划中被认为存在的不足之外，该分析还考虑了州政府积极行动的优势以及加利福尼亚州举措的优势。总体而言，鉴于布什政府对人类胚胎干细胞研究的政策，美国受益于州政府的创新。此外，即便有了关于人类胚胎干细胞研究的新联邦监管政策，加利福尼亚州仍应能够使其计划与联邦倡议相协调，并继续在这一领域发挥主导作用。本文借鉴了2008年和2009年对加利福尼亚州以及国会山关键人物的非正式访谈。
