President Obama signed an executive order reversing the previous administration’s ban on funding of human embryonic stem cell research. President Bush signed an executive order in 2001 restricting funding of such research to several dozen pre-existing cell lines. In 2006, Bush vetoed an act which was passed by the Senate to remove restrictions on embryonic stem cell research, saying he opposed federal funding for stem cell research because many consider the destruction of embryos to be murder.
Embryonic stem cells have the ability to transform into any type of tissue or cell in the body. They are also more abundant than adult stem cells, which come from several different parts of the body. Research with embryonic cells has been claimed to provide potential therapies for blindness, spinal cord injuries, heart attacks and diabetes. Only one embryonic stem cell therapy, involving a possible cure for spinal cord injuries, has already received the necessary approval from the Food and Drug Administration to begin clinical trials.
Source: http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2009/03/obama-reverses-stem-cell-research-ban.php
Tags: embryonic, stem cells
