President Barack Obama plans to lift his predecessor's
restrictions on federal funding for stem cell research, 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 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 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
organisation 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 August 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 $787 ($NZ1588) 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 $410 ($NZ827) 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 Republican Eric Cantor, the No. 2 Republican leader in
the House of Representatives.
Other Republicans joined in. Senator John McCain, the
Republican who opposed Obama in the presidential campaign,
said officials have erred in not dealing more specifically -
and harshly - with banks and the lending crisis.
"I don't think they've made the tough decisions. Some of
these banks have to fail," McCain said.
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, US 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 US in the 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam
Hussein.
