Nebraska Regents Reject Stem Cell Restrictions

The University of Nebraska's Board of Regents took a stand on a controversial issue on Friday, voting down a resolution that would have restricted the amount of stem cell research done in university facilities. The resolution, which needed five votes from the board and only got four, would have followed former President George W. Bush's guidelines for researching stem cells, the Daily Nebraskan reports.

University of Nebraska's current policy follows state and federal law for the research, the report says. The current policy has the support of the school's president, who spoke against the new resolution before the regents voted last week. Student Regent Bradley Bohn tells the Daily Nebraskan that students at the Lincoln, Neb., school are "overwhelmingly in favor of continuing embryonic research."

One regent offered a personal experience as the main reason he voted against the resolution to change the school's policy.

"I had a young neighbor, a very young neighbor, who I watched go through this until she passed away," Regent Bob Whitehouse said. "In her dying moments, she said to me, 'Bob, please continue the research.' It sticks with you. Is it one reason? Probably not. But it's compelling to an awful lot of folks with an awful lot of hope along the way."

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