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“We will bring the change that so many scientists and researchers; doctors and innovators; patients and loved ones have hoped for and fought for these past eight years,” President Obama said.
Embryonic stem cells are basic cells taken from fertilized embryos that can transform into any specialized cell in the body.
Scientists want to be able to grow stem cells so that they can replace the damaged tissue caused by degenerative conditions such as diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.
But such research is abhorrent to people who believe that taxpayer money should not be used to destroy embryos that have the potential for human life.
President Obama criticized former President George W. Bush’s 2001 decision to limit federal funds to stem cell research, warning that America could fall behind other countries in scientific discovery if the government fails to support such research.
The science of stem cells
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Scientists are studying how to manipulate stem cells to replace cells that are damaged by disease, like growing healthy heart cells for patients with heart problems. |
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Stem cells are unspecialized cells that can regenerate themselves through the process of cell division. Scientists can then manipulate them to have special functions throughout the body.
Cells that make up brain neurons, for example, perform different functions from the cells that produce insulin in the pancreas.
Scientists hope that with further study, stem cells can be used to replenish cells that are failing because of disease or injury.
There are two main kinds of stem cells that scientists study.
Embryonic stem cells are derived from human embryos created through in vitro fertilization, the process in which doctors create embryos to implant in women to help them have children. Unused embryos can be donated to scientists for research purposes.
Adult stem cells are found in existing specialized adult tissue like bone marrow or cartilage, and some studies show that adult stem cells could be used for a number of different cell types.
The Bush administration supported adult stem cell research as an alternative to embryonic research, arguing that it has the potential to cure disease without destroying human life.
Adult stem cells are generally more limited in their ability to transform into cells that can be used in other parts of the body; embryonic stem cells are “pluripotent,” meaning that they can become all cell types.
Political debate
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President Obama reignited the stem cell debate after signing an executive order that will open up federal funding for stem cell research. |
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Embryonic stem cell research has become a part of the culture wars surrounding abortion and the debate over whether human life begins at conception.
Many opponents of abortion say that stem cell research causes the destruction of a human embryo. Proponents argue, however, that researchers only use embryos created for fertility purposes that would eventually be discarded anyway.
House Republican Whip Eric Cantor lamented President Obama’s decision in a statement saying, “This divisive action will divert scarce federal resources away from innovative and proven adult stem cell research.”
President Obama condemned former President Bush for putting scientific research at odds with issues of morality, and issued a memorandum directed at shielding science from political ideology.
“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.”
"As a person of faith, I believe we are called to care for each other and work to ease human suffering,” President Obama said.
According to a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll, 59 percent of Americans support relaxing restrictions on federal funding for stem cell research.
President Obama did not go into the specifics of how federal money would be used to fund stem cell research but gave the National Institutes of Health four months to come up with guidelines.
He added, “There is no finish line in the work of science. The race is always with us – the urgent work of giving substance to hope and answering those many bedside prayers, of seeking a day when words like 'terminal' and 'incurable' are finally retired from our vocabulary.”
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American schools and financial aid should be only for legal citizens of the United States. There should be no exceptions to this.
