US PRESIDENT Barack Obama has lifted a ban on federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research, promising that his administration will ensure that scientists can pursue research “free from manipulation or coercion”.
The president said he was reversing his predecessor’s policy on stem-cell research because he agreed with “the majority of Americans” who want to pursue its potential for tackling conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, diabetes and spinal-cord injuries.
“In recent years, when it comes to stem-cell research, rather than furthering discovery, our government has forced what I believe is a false choice between sound science and moral values,” Mr Obama said.
“In this case, I believe the two are not inconsistent. As a person of faith, I believe we are called to care for each other and work to ease human suffering. I believe we have been given the capacity and will to pursue this research – and the humanity and conscience to do so responsibly.”
Mr Obama acknowledged that the potential of stem-cell research remained unknown and it had yet to produce the medical breakthroughs its champions predict.
Some Christians oppose the research because it involves the destruction of a human embryo, but supporters say the embryos used are those left over from fertility treatment, which would otherwise be discarded.
Researchers believe that because embryonic stem cells are capable of developing into any type of cell or tissue in the body they could hold the key to curing a huge range of diseases. Opponents claim that adult cells could produce the same effect without destroying an embryo.
“Ultimately, I cannot guarantee that we will find the treatments and cures we seek. No president can promise that,” Mr Obama said.
“But I can promise that we will seek them – actively, responsibly, and with the urgency required to make up for lost ground. Not just by opening up this new frontier of research today, but by supporting promising research of all kinds, including groundbreaking work to convert ordinary human cells into ones that resemble embryonic stem cells.”
Former president George Bush limited federal funding to research on 21 embryonic stem-cell lines created before August 9th, 2001.
Yesterday’s executive order lifts that restriction but Mr Obama made clear that the move did not give the green light to a scientific free-for-all. “We will never undertake this research lightly. We will support it only when it is both scientifically worthy and responsibly conducted,” he said.
“We will develop strict guidelines, which we will rigorously enforce, because we cannot ever tolerate misuse or abuse. And we will ensure that our government never opens the door to the use of cloning for human reproduction. It is dangerous, profoundly wrong, and has no place in our society, or any society.”
Declaring that “medical miracles do not happen simply by accident”, the president promised to make up for ground lost in research under his predecessor.
Congressional Republicans criticised Mr Obama’s move, which Tony Perkins, president of the conservative Family Research Council, described as “a slap in the face to Americans who believe in the dignity of all human life”.
The president won praise, however, from former first lady Nancy Reagan, who has long campaigned for stem-cell research that could lead to a possible cure to the Alzheimer’s disease that afflicted her late husband, former president Ronald Reagan.