Should the government continue to use tax dollars to fund embryonic stem cell research?

The decision to use government funding for embryonic stem cell research

is complex and involves a number of factors. Historically, the government has funded significant portions of R&D, increasingly focusing on areas less targeted by private firms. The final decision may rest on societal values, ethics, and the perceived public benefits.

Explanation:

The decision on whether the government should continue to use tax dollars to fund embryonic stem cell research is a complex one, involving many layers of societal, ethical, and political considerations. In the 1960s, the federal government funded approximately two-thirds of the nation's research and development (R&D). Over time, however, as the U.S. economy began to rely more heavily on industry-funded R&D, the government began to focus its spending on areas where private firms were not as active.

Government funding inevitably involves political decisions about the worthiness of certain projects. Sometimes such decisions might become entangled with other considerations such as congressional district locations. Despite these complexities, state and federal governments still support research in various ways. For instance, the National Institutes of Health, supported by federal grants, contributed $69 billion to our GDP and supported seven million jobs in 2011 alone.

Therefore, the public sector does play a substantial role in funding scientific research. Ultimately, whether the public sector should fund embryonic stem cell research depends on a range of factors including societal values, ethical considerations, and the perceived public benefit of such research.