After months of controversy, the Mexican parliament has approved the creation of the National Institute of Genomic Medicine. The Senate agreed in late April to eliminate a clause banning the institute from using human embryonic cells or producing human clones for research purposes. “We believe that such a ban would have set a dire precedent and led inexorably to a total prohibition on embryonic stem cell research throughout Mexico,” says Ricardo Tapia, emeritus professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

Tapia was prominent in the lobbying campaign that followed the initial decision to add the contentious clause in December 2003. The Mexican Academy of Sciences and the recently formed College of Bioethics jointly held two seminars for the Senate's Science and Technology and Health commissions. “We demonstrated the enormous potential of these stem cells, and argued that Mexican research could not afford to be left behind,” says Tapia. “This is one of the few occasions in which the scientific community and its arguments were heard by the Senate.”

The Senate's decision has provoked angry criticism from conservative and Catholic groups. Promising imminent treatments from stem cell research is “absurd” and diverts resources from basic health care services, says Gustavo Rincón, a spokesperson for the Association of Catholic Doctors of Archdiocese of Mexico Federal District.

Gerardo Jiménez-Sánchez, director of the institute's consortium, notes that banning embryo research would have no practical impact on the new institute's work, as neither working with embryonic stem cells nor cloning is part of its scientific agenda. “I lament the fact that public discussion has focused on this point when there are so many other important aspects to underline,” Jiménez-Sánchez says.

Supporters of the ban are now pressing President Vicente Fox to veto the legislation and force its return to parliament.