SfN Applauds President Obama’s Reversal of Embryonic Stem Cell Research Restrictions

For immediate release.

SFN APPLAUDS PRESIDENT OBAMA’S REVERSAL OF EMBRYONIC STEM CELL RESEARCH RESTRICTIONS

WASHINGTON – SfN President Thomas J. Carew issued the following statement:

"The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) strongly supports President Barack Obama’s executive order that repeals the Bush administration’s policy limiting federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. After seven years of restrictions that hindered collaboration and slowed research, SfN applauds this step toward a greater investment and encourages the careful use of stem cells to produce new treatments and to aid in the discovery of new drugs for a vast array of devastating diseases.

With the knowledge gained in the past decade, stem cell research is more exciting and promising than ever and must continue, with all the proper ethical safeguards of medical research taken. Stem cells also hold great promise for other neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, Huntington's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease), traumatic brain injury and spinal cord damage. If the 50 million Americans affected annually by neurological illnesses could be aided through stem cell research, we would make tremendous progress in reducing human suffering. SfN applauds the President’s commitment to this research and his dedication to finding new treatments for the many disorders and diseases that afflict our nation."