Obama to end stem cell research funding ban

Finally! Sanity in the White House.

It is morally and ethically wrong to produce human embryos and then mine them for their stem cells. Using adult stem cells does not have this moral and ethical problem and adult stem cells have actually shown more concrete results in treatment of those with serious illness. Since in this economy, our government can't be spending our tax dollars on things that don't offer concrete benefits, shouldn't the less problematic and more productive avenue (adult stem cells) get the funding?
The abortion industry (big part of the Democratic party base) doesn't want any policy that could lead to recognition of the rights of human embyos because it might call into question the underpinnings of the court case (Roe v. Wade) that gives them power and makes them money. Too bad President Obama is not willing to stand up for what is right instead of simply taking the "If Bush was for it, I will be against it" stance. I had hoped that he was better than that.

This is a mistake. Obama is doing all the wrong things, and not focusing on the main issue at hand. He is raising taxes for the rich and corporations, how is that going to increase jobs? He pledged, while campaigning, to cut the wasteful spending but he going to sign a $400b bill full of over 9,000 earmarks. It is crazy. He is running America into the ground, and for a 25 who had hopes of a great future for myself and my future kids, I now believe there will be no good future for my children, who will have to be paying off all of this wasteful spending. American's are losing faith in Obama very quickly which is evidenced by the huge drop in Wall Street since the inaguration.

It's about time. Now we can start playing catch up with the rest of the world.

Thank heavens for a President with a brain and compassion for Parkinson's patients like me
Susie Franklin, Carmel Valley

good

About time!

Terrible. Obama is destroying the economy, so I suppose he figures he may as well destroy unborn life.

What a disaster this president is.

This has nothing to do with "compassion" or caring about people. This is a move to give in to the far left who are angry with him over his stance on Iraq, energy and other issues. Ask yourself one simple question: how do we claim to be superior or passionate liberals when we kill our own children? Stop the lies - kids are dying.

This is the first thing that he is doing that I support. All you embryo huggers can go find another cause. I would give my own life to cure my daughter's diabetes, but now I'll just give my spem instead.

"Finally! Sanity in the White House"

That's a misprint, correct???
Because I know all this spendingof our hard earned money is insane. Whether your for stem cell or against it this it not the time. OOOHH!!! wait a minute this will create jobs more doctor, researcher's, scienitist and egineer's probably making, "let see federal money" min. 300k a year. while to POOR slobs can't even get a job. This man is a joke!!

I do not think George Bush could spell stemcell, never mind understand the concept of research. He was against it, along with other conservative views, just to get the vote of the religous right. Their vote made up part of the 51%that he needed to win in both elections. He was told by his political people what issues he was for and what he was against. The people in the red states actually believed him. We now have a president who can read and write, and it feel s good.

He isn't giving into anyone but his own conscience on developing techniques to actually help people, as opposed to Rethugs who are good at doing things that destroy people, then hold up the abortion issue as the one time they actually attempt to show "morality".

catch up with the rest of the world? Why doesn't the rest of the world share their technology with us? We've been doing it for years... I guess since we are spending $$$$ like there is no tomorrow whats another Billion $$$$$ for funding this program. What a country. I just hope the nation wakes up before the 2010 elections.

These embryos are going to be destroyed anyways - if you love life so much why not put them to good use to cure disease - the rest of the world is doing it, and the U.S. is far behind thanks to the Bush administration.

There was NEVER a ban. It was only the Federal Government would NOT pay or advance it. The rich Universities and Research institutes could always do it.
Most people do not realize that. Obama is an obamanation to clear thinking Americans.
Remember we treat your President the way you treated Bush. Is that OK? I hope so. Have a good weekend.

I'm sorry but the majority of people who have posted are extremely biased and probably do not realize the benefits of that cell-based therapies potentially offer. Do your research. Many embryonic stem cells are willingly donated. Scientists have been extremely limited in their work with embryonic stem cells, which are completely undifferentiated. Adult stem cells are rather limited to the tissues that they are already within. This is funding for research that could cure Parkinson's, Heart Disease, Diabates, help stroke victims, and you people are just going to tear it down as some unncessary project?

This seems to be more about appeasing the pro-abortion lobby than medical research, as recent advances have rendered the destruction of embryos for stem cell research unnecessary. Better to ignore the new methods of deriving stem cells than to abandon an important secondary front in the abortion debate.

Maybe these cells can be used on Obama to give him a clue on how to run the country in a fiscally responsible way.

The United States has fallen far behind the rest of the world in a field that will provide the majority of the major scientific breakthroughs this century and beyond, due to the previous administration's unlawful merging of church and state in their decision process. Good work Obama.

How many of you claiming that you don't want to fund policies that end human life supported military invasions in Iraq and Afghanistan? Don't be hypocritical.

In embryonic stem cell research you have a marginal argument at best because you can't even say definitively when life starts. This is hardly the place to debat it, but stem cell research is a path to a better future, that will surely save the life of some of your family, maybe even your children, down the road.

There are untold numbers of embryonic stem cells from fertilized eggs for in-vitro fertilization that are never going to be used by families for procreation. These are often donated for embryonic stem cell research, when they would otherwise be destroyed. If you think lifting this ban is useless, you have some research to do... It may not be creating jobs, but embryonic stem cell research and therapy has the potential to save millions.

Like it even matters anymore. With government run healthcare, there will be no more private investment in this sort of thing. No more drug development, etc. Companies get into drug development for a financial reward and that's it. The US's higher healthcare costs have been funding all this drug research that has benefited the rest of the world. Not anymore. I guess the one good part is the rest of the world will be stuck paying for new drugs now.

I would support just about anyone who is looking to do stem cells. I can only hope that one day my 4 year old son can say that in the past he had type 1 diabetes. GO OBAMA!!!!!

Has it been seven weeks now that our country has taken a nose dive with a trail of trillons of dollars scattered around.The only meaningfull activities if you want to call them that are the exchanges between Rush and Barach Hussein Obama which seem like a side show in a two bit carnival circus.Oh yeah a new cabinet member has signed on and of course he owes back taxes too.What else is new?

A new age of irresponsibility!

REal simple - we have the right to be free of a religions beliefs to which we do not adhere. It is called "freedom of religion".

Let all those who oppose stem cell research sign up in a database. This is to be a non-cancellable decision after one month. it will be easy to check in the future if they are to be denied use, under law, of any drug, even if life saving, if it came from stem cell research. Let them die or suffer according to their religion - that is their right.
Fewer and few tyrants from the Christian Taliban will be another benefit.

As our right is to be totally free of their religion -

#12 - Kevin... Apparently you have issues with spelling "stem cell" also. You're too good to be true.

My theory behind funding ESCR is that the Libs get to have their two way sword when it comes to population control. They get to kill growing human while researching the wrong type of stem cells to cure people.