Stem Cell Research Can Be Funded with Federal Money

Obama signs executive order

As expected, President Barack Obama today signed an executive order that overturned the ban on allowing stem cell research to be paid for with federal funds.

Obama also signed a memo on scientific integrity. He promised that no scientific data would be “distorted or concealed to serve a political agenda.”

Speech takes jabs at Bush

Obama spoke on the way he plans to handle dissemination of scientific information versus how it has been handled in the past. Some of his statements seemed to be stabs at Bush. He said he plans to restore  “scientific integrity to government decision-making.”

“Promoting science isn’t just about providing resources, it is also about protecting free and open inquiry. It is about letting scientists like those here today do their jobs, free from manipulation or coercion, and listening to what they tell us, even when it’s inconvenient especially when it’s inconvenient. It is about ensuring that scientific data is never distorted or concealed to serve a political agenda and that we make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology.”

Advancing science

Bush placed the ban on funding any scientific research on new lines of stem cells in 2001. Obama wants to allow and encourage stem cell research, which could help treat or cure several ailments, including diabetes and paralysis. Now scientists won’t need personal loans to do private research.

Obama couldn’t estimate how much federal money will go toward stem cell research. He said a lot of ground will have to be made up because of advances that have been lost or missed out on in the last eight  years.

Vocal opponents

Stem cell research has long been a controversial issue. Because the stem cells come from newly formed human embryos, many say it is morally wrong to use the cells.

Of course advocates against stem cell research had their say today.

House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, criticized Obama, saying in a statement that the president had “rolled back important protections for innocent life, further dividing our nation at a time when we need greater unity to tackle the challenges before us.”