[1] In the European Union, stem cell research using the human embryo is permitted in Sweden, Spain, Finland, Belgium, Greece, Britain, Denmark and the Netherlands;[2] however, it is illegal in Germany, Austria, Ireland, Italy, and Portugal.
"[5] The European Union has yet to issue consistent regulations with respect to stem cell research in member states.
Whereas Germany, Austria, Italy, Finland, Portugal and the Netherlands prohibit or severely restrict the use of embryonic stem cells, Greece, Sweden, Spain and the United Kingdom have created the legal basis to support this research.
"[1] Italy has a 2004 law that forbids all sperm or egg donations and the freezing of embryos, but allows, in effect, using existing stem cell lines that have been imported.
[8] The new Spanish law allows existing frozen embryos – of which there are estimated to be tens of thousands in Spain – to be kept for patient's future use, donated for another infertile couple, or used in research.
[10] In 2001, the British Parliament amended the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 (since amended by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008) to permit the destruction of embryos for hESC harvests but only if the research satisfies one of the following requirements: The United Kingdom is one of the leaders in stem cell research, in the opinion of Lord Sainsbury, Science and Innovation Minister for the UK.
In the case of Christian Lawyers Association of South Africa & others v Minister of Health & others[13] the court ruled that the Bill of Rights is not applicable to the unborn.
[1] In 2004, Japan’s Council for Science and Technology Policy voted to allow scientists to conduct stem cell research for therapeutic purposes, though formal guidelines have yet to be released.
[19] Brazil has passed legislation to permit stem cell research using excess in vitro fertilized embryos that have been frozen for at least three years.
The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act was the name of two similar bills, and both were vetoed by President George W. Bush and were not enacted into law.
New Jersey congressman Chris Smith wrote the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act of 2005, which made some narrow exceptions, and was signed into law by President Bush.
In 2014, United States v. Regenerative Sciences, LLC upheld FDA's regulation of stem cell therapies.
However, the Dickey Amendment to the budget, The Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009, still bans federal funding of creating new cell lines.
Highlights of the act include prohibitions against the creation of embryos for research purposes and the criminalization of commercial transactions in human reproductive tissues.