Twenty-five years ago, scientists first isolated human embryonic stem cells (hESCs).[1] Shortly after this development, the use of these stem cells in medical research had become a major public policy controversy in the United States. Proponents hailed human embryonic stem cell research (hESCR) as a necessary and morally unproblematic breakthrough that would usher in a new era of miracle cures. Opponents objected that the destruction of human life essential to hESCR made the practice unacceptable, and that there were ethically, and practically, superior alternatives.

Today, the topic of human embryonic stem cell research has all but vanished from the headlines and public discourse. But 25 years ago, that was not the case. It is difficult to imagine today, but in those few years before 9/11, hESCR was a major topic of debate nationwide—politically, scientifically, and in the media.

In the intervening years, it is the opponents of hESCR, rather than its proponents, who have been vindicated.