US government to fund human stem cell research

The federal government of the United States announced last week that for the first time it will fund medical research using human embryo cells, touching off a bitter debate between antiabortion groups and patients who could one day benefit from the research.

The hope is that stem cells, obtained from either donated embryos or, under certain circumstances, aborted pregnancies, will be able to change into a wide variety of more specific cells that can repair diseased tissues and allow them to function normally. Some medical researchers say that the use of these primitive cells could herald a new generation of treatments …