Stem Cells: The Building Blocks of Life

Bush's Policy

     In 2001, President George W. Bush passed an executive order that restricted the creation of new embryonic stem cell lines in addition to providing federal funds only to stem cell lines that were already in existence. Bush had said, "We should not use public money to support the further destruction of human life." In July 2007, President Bush vetoed a bill that pushed for federal funds for stem cell research. He claimed that, "Destroying human life in the hopes of saving human life is not ethical, and it is not the only option before us." Bush noted that there are other means for research on stem cell therapies, such as umbilical cord blood, placenta, adult stem cells, and animal stem cells. (Document)

 

 

 

 

Obama's Policy

     On March 9, 2009, President Barack Obama issued Executive Order 13505 (Removing Barriers to Responsible Scientific Research Involving Human Stem Cells) which removed the restrictions that President George W. Bush had placed on stem cell research. The executive order recognized that, "Research involving human embryonic stem cells and human non-embryonic stem cells has the potential to lead to better understanding and treatment of many disabling diseases and conditions.  Advances over the past decade in this promising scientific field have been encouraging, leading to broad agreement in the scientific community that the research should be supported by Federal funds." (Document)