WASHINGTON (AFP) — President George W. Bush said Monday the US is increasing funds for "ethical" stem cell research that does not involve destroying human embryos.
In his annual State of the Union address before Congress, Bush hailed the discovery announced last November of methods to re-program adult skin cells to act like embryonic stem cells.
Such developments show "the potential to move us beyond the divisive debates of the past by extending the frontiers of medicine without the destruction of human life," Bush said, referring to the creation of stem cell lines for research that involves destroying human embryos.
"So we are expanding funding for this type of ethical medical research."
But the US president also insisted that "moral boundaries" be respected in sensitive genetic research and called for a ban on human cloning.
"On matters of science and life, we must trust in the innovative spirit of medical researchers and empower them to discover new treatments while respecting moral boundaries," he said.
"So I call on the Congress to pass legislation that bans unethical practices such as the buying, selling, patenting, or cloning of human life," he told a joint sitting of the US legislature.
Bush meanwhile asked Congress to double federal government support for research in the physical sciences to "ensure America remains the most dynamic nation on earth."
"To keep America competitive into the future, we must trust in the skill of our scientists and engineers and empower them to pursue the breakthroughs of tomorrow."
Bush has sought several times during his administration to ban cloning and to restrict research on human embryos that involves their destruction.
On January 17 Stemagen Corp. a California biotech firm, said it had cloned human embryos from adult skin cells.
The breakthrough has the potential to help develop cures for ailments like Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's, and other untreatable genetic-related afflictions.
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