Policy blocks research

Re “Stem Cell Labs Take Private Path,” June 11

When it comes to stem cell research, U.S. public policy represents a roadblock, not a pathway, to medical breakthroughs. The bottom line is that several states, California included, and leading research institutions are taking evasive maneuvers to circumvent a federal research policy that has no basis in science. I applaud private funders who have stepped forward to fill the gap left by an inadequate federal policy. But we should remember that this funding cannot serve as a full substitute for the resources of the National Institutes of Health. Those resources should be dispersed under the direction of objective science, not ideology or religious belief.

LUKE STROCKIS

La Canada Flintridge