Barack Obama: Stem Cell Research

History

Stem cells are used for many medical procedures such as bone marrow transplants, which use stem cells to regenerate healthy marrow in cancer patients. Stem cell research became worldwide news in 1997 when a sheep named Dolly was cloned from an adult sheep's stem cells. As debate about the ethics of cloning living beings ensued, scientists gained more knowledge about the restorative powers of stem cells. They discovered that human embryos were the best source of stem cells because these cells can change into any type of cell in a human body, but stem cells derived from non-embryonic sources, such as skin or marrow, are believed to be pre-programmed and only capable of turning into duplicate cells from their original source. As a stem cell performs its normal function of constantly reproducing itself, the offspring from the original stem cells are known as a "line" and can continuously be used indefinitely for additional research.

The heart of stem cell research controversy lies in how embryonic stem cells are obtained; from fertilized eggs left over from in-vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures. Although scientists can only use one to six day-old fertilized eggs for this procedure and only with the consent of the IVF patient, many religious people have moral objections against this research, since it requires destruction of an embryo in order to obtain a small clump of stem cells no larger than the head of a pin.

Soon after Dolly's birth, U.S. lawmakers fought against stem cell research and cloning of all life forms. In 1995 President Bill Clinton enacted the Dickey-Wicker Amendment which prohibited the destruction of human embryos for scientific research. Six years later, President George W. Bush attempted to reach a compromise on the controversy by banning the use of federal money for embryonic stem cell research on lines obtained after 2001. Throughout the next eight years, embryonic stem cell researchers were only able to obtain money from private and state sources to fund their research. Without federal support from the National Institute of Health, embryonic stem cell research waned.

Present Day

When Illinois Senator Barak Obama ran for the presidency in 2008, he promised to lift the ban on embryonic stem cell research if he was elected to office. Less than one year into his term as U.S. president, Obama fulfilled his campaign promise and signed an executive order lifting the ban on embryonic stem cell research.

Obama explained his decision by stating "Rather than furthering discovery, our government has forced what I believe is a false choice between sound science and moral values. In this case, I believe the two are not inconsistent 'the majority of Americans' have come to a consensus that we should pursue this research. That the potential it offers is great, and with proper guidelines and strict oversight, the perils can be avoided. That is a conclusion with which I agree."

Obama advocated for embryonic stem cell research while attempting to appease opponents by approving rigorous standards that researchers must meet before receiving federal dollars. For example, all federally-funded projects using embryonic stem cells must show documented proof that the fertilized eggs used for their research came from donors who gave their written consent for this type of work.

Soon after Obama's order to allow federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, the National Institute of Health granted funding for research on about 128 new stem cell lines, an increase of 107 lines over the 21 that qualified during the Bush-era ban.

In July 2011, a two year court battle led by individuals who sought to overturn Obama's executive order was settled when U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth upheld the decision to allow federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.

Obama's decision remains controversial and two years after giving his executive order, federal funding for stem cell research projects is far greater for projects that utilize stem cells derived from developed, non-embryonic stem cell sources. In the two years following Obama's order, 59 embryonic stem cell research projects were denied funding.