14 DAY TRIAL // Since August 2001, all researches on stem cells coming from human embryos have been outlawed by the former presidential administration, as a response to increased pressure from religious groups throughout the United States. But now, President-elect Barack Obama announced that this area of research would once again be opened to federal funding. Most likely, this change will occur in less than 100 days, announced the head of Obama's "transition team," John Podesta.
Podesta, former chief of staff for the Clinton presidency, said in a Fox News interview on Sunday, "There's a lot that the president can do using his executive authority without waiting for congressional action, and I think we'll see the president do that." He mentioned the Center for American Progress as a possible spearhead for the new research. The Center was founded in 2003 by John Podesta himself, and Obama said that much of his vision on American progress was substantiated there.
Needless to say, the stem cell research community welcomed this decision with open arms. "Under an Obama administration, money will hopefully flow to all promising avenues of research based on scientific merit, and not skewed to fit a conservative agenda. We've been operating for the past decade with one hand tied behind our back," argued Robert Lanza, chief scientist at Worcester-based, stem cell company, Advanced Cell Technology.
Children's Hospital Boston Stem Cell Program associate director, George Daley, added "The stem cell research community has been working hard to overturn the Bush policy. With an administration more supportive of science in general, and stem cell research in particular, I predict that the field will expand dramatically."
Overall, the felling inside the scientific community is that Bush's restrictions have been a "dark scientific age" of sorts, in that the US lagged behind in this field of research, and now it has to make up for the lost time. Hopefully, when Obama overturns existing restrictions, change will indeed come to America in this field as well.