Washington- Congressman Joe Pitts (PA-16), Chairman of the House Values Action Team, released the following statement today after President Obama signed an Executive Order overturning the ban on the federal funding of embryo-destructive stem cell research. 

“The President’s executive order comes as a mistake at a time when we have made such great progress in ethical, non-life destroying stem cell research.  Many people want to pose this debate as one of moral conscience in opposition to science, but the two do not need to be in conflict.  In fact, science has made it possible to treat patients with stem cells that do not require the destruction of human embryos—indeed this is the only research that has lead to the actual treatment of patients.

“Without this ban in place, taxpayer dollars will now go toward research and experimentation that requires the harvesting and destruction of human embryos that may never result in the successful treatment of patients.

“I am disappointed that President Obama has chosen to force American taxpayers to fund research that destroys human life against the objections of their conscience.  This comes just days after he overturned regulations that protect healthcare workers from being forced to perform procedures that violate their conscience.  For a President that spoke of uniting the nation, these are very divisive actions.”

Background:

Since 2001, when the ban on federal funding was instated, significant strides have taken place in the field of non-embryonic stem cell research, leading to medical and scientific breakthroughs not previously seen.  Adult stem cells have been used in human applications for over two decades, and researchers have shown positive results in treating patients suffering from over 73 different diseases and disorders using adult stem cell treatments.

Privately funded research on human embryonic stem cells has always been, and remained under the Bush Administration, legal.  Millions of dollars in the public and private sector are spent every year on human embryonic stem cell research, though there have yet to be successful human clinical trials or treatments for patients with life-threatening diseases.

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