Federal spending ban has had a chilling effect on research.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

The following editorial appeared in the Miami Herald Sept. 30:

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California has become the first state to assert its intent to support broad stem-cell research _ despite limits on federal spending for such research. California's choice affirms the principle of unfettered scientific investigation. It also opens a window of opportunity for researchers to explore the life-saving potential of embryonic stem cells without having to leave the country to do so. California's decision is a good one for the field of scientific inquiry and for the nation's future healthcare.

A growing number of doctors has voiced concerns about being stymied in research since President Bush's executive order restricted federal spending to just a select few lines of stem cells for research. Doctors say that it now is tough to get access to the 78 approved cell lines, that the costs are exorbitant and that some of these lines are in countries with even more restrictions.

If the president intended to stop research into this promising area of medical possibilities, then his order goes a long way toward doing that. In Florida, doctors at major hospitals, including Jackson Memorial Hospital, say the federal spending ban has had a chilling effect on research. Dr. Roger Pedersen, who spent 30 years at the University of California, said that he moved to Cambridge University in England because of the lack of U.S. support for stem-cell research.

In signing the law, ...