President Obama will
today that President Bush's
on the funding of embryonic stem cell research is to be overturned. The
has been condemned by conservative groups but
by many American scientists.
For eight years American scientists have been banned by law from using taxpayers’ money to
in work on most embryonic stem cell lines. The result, according to many scientists, has been a reduction in the
of their research.
Embryonic stem cells can morph into any
in the body, and they might one day assist in
chronic conditions such as diabetes, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. But their use
the destruction of embryos,
those left over from fertility treatment.
America's religious conservatives are deeply
. One called the Obama announcement, ‘a slap in the face to Americans who believe in the dignity of all human life’. The Republican Party is also
the move, which is yet another bold step away from the policies and ideology of the Bush years, in which religious
often trumped scientific
. That approach, Mister Obama will make clear today, is now history.
Justin Webb, BBC News, Washington
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