Biobama

On Monday March 9th, Barack Obama fulfilled one of his campaign promises by signing an executive order to authorize federal funding for research on human embryonic stem cells. The American President said that his predecessor, George Bush, had imposed a “false choice between sound science and moral values” by refusing to lift the funding ban during the eight years of his presidency.

Obama fulfilled the hopes of a large part of the scientific community by expressing his belief that stem cell research is “promising” for the treatment of degenerative diseases which today are incurable. He also spoke of his determination that American researchers in this field should make up “lost ground,” particularly in relation to their British and Asian counterparts, albeit with the proviso that they should work “responsibly” and within a framework of “strict” guidelines.

Obama’s decision does not mean a radical change in the situation: stem cell research is already being conducted in the United States by a number of internationally respected research groups, supported by private funding or by subsidies from states such as California. Nonetheless, his decision does constitute a strong signal that there will now be a massive concerted effort on the part of the Americans to conquer this new biological – and ultimately pharmaceutical – El Dorado.

It is to be hoped that this message will be heard in France, where so far the authorities have adopted a very prudent, even hesitant, attitude. After the passing of the 1994 law on bioethics, which banned all embryo research, the new law of 2004 authorized exemptions in cases where “such research is likely to lead to major progress in the development of treatments, and provided that it could not have been carried out by an alternative method of comparable efficacy.” It is expected that this wording will be revised in light of the “States General on Bioethics,” a series of public consultations being held in France until summer 2009.

While we must continue to recognize the force of the arguments of those who fear that such research will inevitably lead to the objectification of the human embryo, it is nonetheless essential to clarify France’s position on this issue. If stem cell research is to be conducted, it must be done not simply on the basis of exemptions, but vigorously and “rigorously” – “because we cannot ever tolerate misuse or abuse,” as the American President insisted.