How did federal regulations of human embryonic stem cell research change under President Obama?
On March 9, 2009, President Barack Obama lifted the restrictions on federal funding for human embryonic stem cell lines created after August 9, 2001. He then gave the NIH 120 days to prepare the regulations that will guide this funding. The federal government could not begin broad funding of human embryonic stem cell research until after those regulations were finalized, which happened in July 2009. The first stem cell lines to be reviewed and approved under the new guidelines were announced in December. This decision did put an end to the restrictions on working with new cell lines with federal equipment. Institutions that had previously maintained dual laboratory space and equipment for working with federal and non-federal stem cell lines could immediately start using federal equipment in research with all cell lines.
