Obama to Reverse Bush Stem Cell Policy

clipped from www.google.com Reversing an eight-year-old limit on potentially life-saving science, President Barack Obama plans to lift restrictions Monday on taxpayer-funded research using embryonic stem cells. The long-promised move will allow a rush of research aimed at one day better treating, if not curing, ailments from diabetes to paralysis — research that crosses partisan lines, backed by such notables as Nancy Reagan and the late Christopher Reeve. But it stirs intense controversy over whether government crosses a moral line with such research. Obama will hold an event at the White House to announce the move, a senior administration official said Friday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the policy had not yet been publicly announced.

As you can imagine, this move isn't popular among those who think a fertilized cell deserves a social security card and a listing in the phone book.

"Taxpayers should not have to foot the bill for experiments that require the destruction of human life," said Tony Perkins of the conservative Family Research Council. "President Obama's policy change is especially troubling given the significant adult stem cell advances that are being used to treat patients now without harming or destroying human embryos."

Of course, adult stem cells don't have the protean nature of embryonic stem cells -- which can literally become any kind of cell -- which is why researchers are eager for subsidized embryonic research.

As far as the religious right goes, screw 'em. They aren't happy unless they're unhappy. Trust me, they're much happier with something to totally freak out over.