Obama clears way to boost stem cell funding

Obama clears way to boost stem cell funding

Philip Elliott / Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- Reversing Bush policy, President Barack Obama on Monday cleared the way for a significant increase in federal dollars for embryonic stem cell research and promised no scientific data will be "distorted or concealed to serve a political agenda."

Obama signed the executive order on the divisive stem cell issue and a memo addressing what he called scientific integrity before an East Room audience packed with scientists. He laced his remarks with several jabs at the way science was handled by former President George W. Bush.

"Promoting science isn't just about providing resources, it is also about protecting free and open inquiry," Obama said.

He said his memorandum is the beginning of a process of ensuring his administration bases its decision on sound science and appoints scientific advisers based on their credentials, not their politics.

Fulfilling a campaign promise, Obama signed the order that stem cell research supporters believe could help uncover cures for serious ailments from diabetes to paralysis.

Obama's action reverses Bush's stem cell policy by undoing his 2001 directive that banned federal funding for research into stem lines created after Aug. 9, 2001.

Michiganians present at the signing included supporters Reps. John Dingell, D-Dearborn, and Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, and Rosina Bierbaum, a dean at the University of Michigan.

Bierbaum, who served on the Obama science and technology transition team, said: "The potential for stem cells to offer cures for very debilitating diseases is great. Lifting the ban on existing cell lines greatly enhances the chances that this research will leap forward quickly."

But others lawmakers blasted Obama's decision.

"Government should not spend taxpayer dollars to help destroy human life at any stage of development," said Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland. "Scientific research has demonstrated the ability of producing results from adult stem cells and cord blood cells."

Detroit News Staff Writer Deb Price contributed to this report.