Bush placed restriction in 2001
President Barack Obama plans to reverse a decision put in place by his predecessor nearly eight years ago.
Several sources say Obama will sign an executive order on Monday that will lift the ban placed on using federal funding for stem cell research. The ban was put in place in August, 2001, by George W. Bush.
Making good on a promise
Obama promised during his campaign that he would make this move. He is scheduled to sign the executive order at 11 a.m. Monday. Scientists will no longer need to secure private funding or personal loans to do stem cell research.
Once Obama signs the order, the National Institutes of Health will be allowed to consider funding requests from scientists who are doing research that involves stem cells.
The controversy
The ban on federal funding for stem cell research was one of the most controversial moves Bush made during his presidency.
Scientists and patient advocates touted stem cell research because of the many possible cures and treatments that could be developed. Religious groups strongly opposed stem cell research because the stem cells used at that time were generally from aborted fetuses.
Scientists have since found other sources of stem cells. However, Obama’s executive order will allow funding for research on human embryonic stem cells.
Why lift the ban?
Scientists say stem cells from embryos in the very early stages of development can become any tissue in the body. Scientists believe they could help solve the underlying causes of many diseases and repair many types of damage in the human body.
Specifically, researchers believe stem cells could be the key to fighting diabetes, Parkinson’s disease and spinal cord injuries.
Moral grounds
Extracting stem cells from embryos destroys them, and many religious groups believe that doing stem cell research encourages abortion and devalues life.
They also say that government-funded stem cell research sends a message that the government supports abortion and destruction of embryos.
By the way….religious groups are NOT the only people opposing using embryos for this research. There are a lot of non-religious people who oppose this. There are alternatives (such as adult stem cell) and those options should be further explored first.