Gold9472
03-09-2009, 06:43 AM
Obama to keep stem cell promise
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0309/19775.html
By CARRIE BUDOFF BROWN | 3/8/09 10:04 PM EDT
President Barack Obama will issue a broad declaration Monday that science should be walled off from political interference in his administration, officials said Sunday.
In another break from his predecessor, Obama will also lift restrictions on federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research and direct the National Institutes of Health to set new research guidelines within 120 days, the officials told reporters in a conference call detailing the forthcoming executive order on stem cell research and presidential memorandum on science.
“We view what happened with stem cell research in the last administration as one manifestation of failure to think carefully about how federal support of science and the use of scientific advice occurs,” said Harold Varmus, a Nobel Prize-winning biologist and co-chair of the President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology. “This is consistent with [Obama's] determination to use sound scientific practice, responsible practice of science and evidence, instead of dogma in developing federal policy.”
The long-awaited move on embryonic stem cells makes good on a campaign promise, but it is also certain to draw criticism from anti-abortion and religious groups that question the science and ethics behind the research.
Rep. Eric Cantor, the No. 2 Republican in the House, said the focus on stem cell research was a distraction from the economy.
"Frankly, federal funding of embryonic stem cell research can bring on embryo harvesting, perhaps even human cloning that occurs," he said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union." "We don't want that. ... And certainly that is something that we ought to be talking about, but let's take care of business first. People are out of jobs."
Obama was a frequent critic of former President George W. Bush’s 2001 executive order, which said federal dollars could be spent for research only on stem cell lines created before Aug. 9, 2001. On the campaign trail, Obama accused the Bush administration of allowing political ideology to interfere with scientific decisions.
The research is controversial because the stem cells are harvested from embroyos that must be destroyed in the process.
But supporters of stem-cell research say the cells hold the promise of cures for Parkinson’s disease, spinal injuries and other afflictions. That’s because embryonic stem-cells can transform into any cell in the body—making them a potentially powerful tool in the hands of scientists.
Shortly before the inauguration, Obama hinted that he might not sign an executive order to reverse Bush’s move, saying he was interested in trying to get the change made through a bipartisan effort in Congress.
Monday's announcement means he will instead supplant Bush’s executive order with one of his own—a move that will please many of Obama’s supporters who were pushing him to make the change.
"I feel vindicated after eight years of struggle, and I know it's going to energize my research team," said Dr. George Daley of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and Children's Hospital of Boston, a leading stem cell researcher told the Associated Press.
Tony Perkins, president of the conservative Family Research Council, said Obama’s order would amount to “green-lighting funding for experiments that encourage human embryo destruction. Today’s news . . . is a slap in the face to Americans who believe in the dignity of all human life.”
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0309/19775.html
By CARRIE BUDOFF BROWN | 3/8/09 10:04 PM EDT
President Barack Obama will issue a broad declaration Monday that science should be walled off from political interference in his administration, officials said Sunday.
In another break from his predecessor, Obama will also lift restrictions on federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research and direct the National Institutes of Health to set new research guidelines within 120 days, the officials told reporters in a conference call detailing the forthcoming executive order on stem cell research and presidential memorandum on science.
“We view what happened with stem cell research in the last administration as one manifestation of failure to think carefully about how federal support of science and the use of scientific advice occurs,” said Harold Varmus, a Nobel Prize-winning biologist and co-chair of the President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology. “This is consistent with [Obama's] determination to use sound scientific practice, responsible practice of science and evidence, instead of dogma in developing federal policy.”
The long-awaited move on embryonic stem cells makes good on a campaign promise, but it is also certain to draw criticism from anti-abortion and religious groups that question the science and ethics behind the research.
Rep. Eric Cantor, the No. 2 Republican in the House, said the focus on stem cell research was a distraction from the economy.
"Frankly, federal funding of embryonic stem cell research can bring on embryo harvesting, perhaps even human cloning that occurs," he said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union." "We don't want that. ... And certainly that is something that we ought to be talking about, but let's take care of business first. People are out of jobs."
Obama was a frequent critic of former President George W. Bush’s 2001 executive order, which said federal dollars could be spent for research only on stem cell lines created before Aug. 9, 2001. On the campaign trail, Obama accused the Bush administration of allowing political ideology to interfere with scientific decisions.
The research is controversial because the stem cells are harvested from embroyos that must be destroyed in the process.
But supporters of stem-cell research say the cells hold the promise of cures for Parkinson’s disease, spinal injuries and other afflictions. That’s because embryonic stem-cells can transform into any cell in the body—making them a potentially powerful tool in the hands of scientists.
Shortly before the inauguration, Obama hinted that he might not sign an executive order to reverse Bush’s move, saying he was interested in trying to get the change made through a bipartisan effort in Congress.
Monday's announcement means he will instead supplant Bush’s executive order with one of his own—a move that will please many of Obama’s supporters who were pushing him to make the change.
"I feel vindicated after eight years of struggle, and I know it's going to energize my research team," said Dr. George Daley of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and Children's Hospital of Boston, a leading stem cell researcher told the Associated Press.
Tony Perkins, president of the conservative Family Research Council, said Obama’s order would amount to “green-lighting funding for experiments that encourage human embryo destruction. Today’s news . . . is a slap in the face to Americans who believe in the dignity of all human life.”