Scientists cheer as Obama overturns stem cell ban

10 March 2009

US President Barack Obama on Monday overturned a funding ban on stem cell research in a bid to make America a trail-blazer in finding cures for a number of illnesses, such as Alzheimer's disease. He declared the return of federal funding would open the door for the US to lead the world in lab work.

The president said restrictions imposed by previous president George W Bush on the use of human embryos on moral grounds eight years ago may have held up new cures. He added that the White House would make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology, from now on.

Addressing an audience on Monday of US lawmakers, scientists - including three Nobel laureates - and religious leaders, President Obama said his move to unleash research on stem cells would "restore scientific integrity to government decision making''.

Obama also paid a tribute to late actor Christopher Reeve, who was paralysed in a fall while riding on a horse. Obama said the Superman star dreamed of being able to walk again. "Christopher did not get that chance. But if we pursue this research maybe one day, maybe not in our lifetime, others like him might," he said.

Obama said the nation owes a debt of gratitude to people like Reeve, who with his wife Dana created a foundation dedicated to finding a cure for spinal cord injuries. He recounted Christopher Reeve's fighting spirit, efforts to regain the ability to walk and upbeat outlook, adding that he wished Reeve and his wife could have been at the White House Monday to witness the event.

Christopher Reeve, who was injured in 1995, died in 2004 of heart failure. Dana Reeve died of lung cancer in 2006. However, the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, which they founded, hailed the decision from Miami.