National Review Editors
Obama signs an executive order to federally fund embryonic stem cell research
For a decade now,the question of federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research has made for a heated political debate. Scientists believe the research may hold the promise of advancing medical research,but it also involves the destruction of living human embryos,and therefore raises the explosive question of the protection and regard we owe to human beings in their earliest stages.
Since 1995,Congress has prohibited taxpayer funds from paying for research in which embryos are destroyed. The Clinton administration,in its final months,explored the possibility of walking through a loophole in that law by funding everything that followed the destruction of embryos but not paying for the fatal act itself.