Obama lifts restrictions on stem cell research
Published:Monday | March 9, 2009 | 2:02 PM
US President Barack Obama is expected to lift restrictions on federal funding for research on new stem cell lines.
Officials say Mr Obama will authorise the move by executive order sometime today, in a major reversal of US policy.
Ex-President George W Bush blocked the use of any government money to fund research on human embryonic stem cell lines created after August 9, 2001.
Analysts say Mr Obama\'s decision could also lead Congress to overturn a ban on spending tax dollars to create embryos.
The ban, known as the Dickey-Wicker amendment, has been in place since 1996 and renewed every year by Congress.