April 10, 2007, New York City— The Senate is again debating legislation that would ease the Bush administration’s limits on federal financing of embryonic stem cell research. It is expected to vote this week on the measure, which was passed by the House. Last summer the President vetoed an identical bill passed by the Senate. This is the latest chapter in the ongoing social and political debate over stem cell research and the proper use of new scientific technologies.

In an effort to help inform this ongoing debate, The Century Foundation has published Stem Cells and Public Policy— a guide to the issues. This is the most recent publication in The Century Foundation’s series, The Basics. Stem Cells and Public Policy, provides a concise, comprehensive overview of the implications of stem cell research for the development of public policy. It addresses critical questions related to stem cell research including the establishment of medical research priorities, the treatment of intellectual property rights, the role of religious and scientific institutions and the effective national and international governance of the burgeoning field of biotechnology.

Stem Cells and Public Policy was written by Richard Hayes of the Center for Genetics and Society in collaboration with Pete Shanks and Marcy Darnovsky, under the direction of Leif Wellington Haase, health care fellow at The Century Foundation. Haase can shed light on the many complicated issues related to this current political debate and speak to the broader issues related to creating policy around the development and use of stem cell technologies and the new human biotechnologies.

The Century Foundation’s Basics series offers readers a clear, succinct summary of essential facts about important policy issues and unbiased assessments of strengths and weaknesses of reform proposals in the news. These guides are important resources for legislators, journalists, students, and the general public who want the facts and analysis without the rhetoric. Other titles in this series include Public Policy in an Aging America , The USA Patriot Act, Social Security Reform, and Medicare Reform. These and other guides in the Basics series can be downloaded from The Century Foundation Web site at www.tcf.org.

For more information about Stem Cells and Public Policy or other publications in the Basics series, or to set up an interview with Leif Wellington Haase, contact Christy Hicks at hicks@tcf.org or call

(212) 452-7723. For information related to health policy, visit our website Health Policy Watch at www.healthpolicywatch.com.