Editorial


Yesterday a light went on for science that suffered in the dark under former president George Bush. President Obama lifted Bush's ban on using federal funds to finance human embryonic stem cells research on cell lines not already in use.

Obama's reversal of Bush's order doesn't mean that paralyzed people will suddenly walk or that some of the world's worst diseases will be cured overnight. Research using the cells, which are pluripotent - meaning they can become any type of cell in the human body - holds the distant promise that such things may someday be possible. Indeed, adult stem cells are already being used to treat leukemia, lymphoma and several other diseases. Last month, a California biotech company won FDA approval to implant embryonic stem cells in up to 10 paraplegic patients within weeks of their injuries to see if the treatment can help repair damage and restore the use of limbs.

Despite the Bush ban, embryonic stem cell research was being conducted using private money. But progress was much slower than it might have been had the National Institutes of Health, the biggest funder of medical research, been able to support science unhampered by the Bush administration's ideology dictates.

Though research using them nonetheless raises ethical and religious issues. That research, however, is much less controversial than the voices shouting in opposition make it seem.

A majority of the public has always supported the research, and the percentage in favor of it has increased almost continuously. The Bush-era ban never really made sense anyway, since the administration made no effort to end the practice of discarding unwanted embryos.

Poll results depend heavily on the way questions are worded, but a survey conducted last year for Time magazine found that when respondents were told that the goal of the research was to cure disease and that it used embryos slated to be discarded anyway, 73 percent voiced their support.

Obama was careful not to oversell the promise of embryonic stem cell research. But many scientists believe it could be used to treat a host of maladies, including cancer, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, blindness, spinal cord injuries, heart disease and diabetes, a disease that has reached epidemic proportions. The economic impact of curing that one disease alone would be enormous. Nearly 24 million Americans have diabetes, including fit young children of normal weight who have the Type 1 form of the disease. The economic impact of caring for diabetics and the cost to society of their lost productivity has been pegged at $174 billion annually. And diabetes has become a global problem.

Since a subsequent president could reverse Obama's executive order, just as he revered that of his predecessor, Congress should put support for the research in the form of a law. It should also enact legislation to prevent federal employees, including the president, from meddling with and censoring science based on personal views and beliefs.

"Promoting science isn't just about providing resources it is also about protecting free and open inquiry," Obama said, in his statement reversing the ban. In this case, the line of inquiry holds great promise for longer and healthier lives for millions. So let the federal funding begin.