Washington: President Barack Obama plans to lift his predecessor's restrictions on federal funding for stem cell research Monday, the latest reversal of controversial policies implemented by the Bush administration.
The long-promised move, coming nearly two months into his term, will allow a rush of research aimed at better treatment, if not cures, for ailments from diabetes to paralysis — research that crosses partisan lines, backed by such notables as Nancy Reagan and the late actor Christopher Reeve. But it stirs intense controversy over whether government crosses a moral line with such research.
Obama also planned to make a broad declaration that science — not political ideology — would guide his administration.
"I would simply say this memorandum is not concerned solely — or even specifically — with stem cell research," said Harold Varmus, chairman of the White House's Council of Advisers on Science and Technology and a Nobel Prize-winning biologist. He said it would address how the government uses science and who is advising officials across federal agencies.
In short, Obama plans to use an executive order and a memo to signal his commitment to refocus the government's priorities.
The proposed changes, which Obama planned to sign around noon on Monday, do not fund creation of new lines, nor specify which existing lines can be used. They mean that scientists, who until now have had to rely on private donations to work with these newer stem cell lines, can apply for government money for the research, just like they do for studies of gene therapy or other treatment approaches.
At the same event, the president planned to announce safeguards through the National Institutes of Health so science is protected from political interference.
Embryonic stem cells are master cells that can morph into any cell of the body.
Scientists hope to harness them so they can create replacement tissues to treat a variety of diseases — such as new insulin-producing cells for diabetics, cells that could help those with Parkinson's disease or maybe even Alzheimer's, or new nerve connections to restore movement after spinal injury.
The research is controversial because days-old embryos must be destroyed to obtain the cells. They typically are culled from fertility-clinic leftovers otherwise destined to be thrown away. President George W. Bush banned their use; he and his supporters said they were defending human life.
"I believe it is unethical to use human life, even young embryonic life, to advance science," said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, a conservative organization that opposes the move.
"While such research is unfortunately legal, taxpayers should not have to foot the bill for experiments that require the destruction of human life," said Perkins. "I urge President Obama to direct funding not only to the best science, but also to the surest common ground — research using adult stem cells and stem cells created by reprogramming."
Dr. Curt Civin, whose research allowed scientists to isolate stem cells and who now serves as the founding director of the University of Maryland Center for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, said that type of rhetoric was not helpful.
"This was already life that was going to be destroyed," he said. "The choice is throw them away or use them for research."
Bush limited taxpayer money for stem cell research to a small number of stem cell lines that were created before Aug. 9, 2001. Many of those faced drawbacks. Hundreds more of such lines — groups of cells that can continue to propagate in lab dishes — have been created since then. Scientists say those newer lines are healthier and better suited to creating treatments for diseases, but they were largely off-limits to researchers who took federal dollars.
Meanwhile, the president is calling for hope and asking for patience as the country is swamped by a skidding stock market, rocketing unemployment and deep financial insecurity.
The president dispatched his budget director to the Sunday television talk shows to ask for time. He reminded inquisitors that the administration's $787 economic stimulus plan was just starting to find its way into the economy. But he acknowledged that "fundamentally, the economy is week."
Leaders of the Republican opposition blasted the president for declining to veto a $410 billion catchall spending bill to keep the government running through Sept. 30, the end of this fiscal year.
The measure contains about 8,000 pet projects inserted by lawmakers, a process known as earmarking and one that Obama promised to end during his presidential campaign. About 40 percent of the so-called pork barrel spending was authored by Republicans.
Peter Orszag, Obama's Office of Management and Budget director, acknowledged the federal budget is "uglier than we would like," but he blamed most of the spending on last year's budget process during the Bush administration and defended Obama's decision to go forward with it without seeking more changes.
Republicans were not swayed
"First of all, if you make a promise, people expect that you live up to it. And that's why this administration's refusal to go in and change this bill, I think, is a false position," said Rep. Eric Cantor, the No. 2 Republican leader in the House of Representatives.
Also Sunday, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai welcomed Obama's call to identify moderate elements of the Taliban and encourage them to reconcile with the Afghan government.
Obama's call "was good news because this has been the stand of the Afghan government," Karzai said.
In Iraq, U.S. military leaders said 12,000 American and 4,000 British troops will leave the country by September, the first details of how Obama's withdrawal order will be effected. He has said all American combat forces will be gone from Iraq by August 2010, with a residual force of between 35,000 to 50,000 to leave by the end of 2011.
The British withdrawal would remove the last of a force that joined the U.S. in the 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
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