There was little question that Barack Obama would reverse George W. Bush’s policies on embryonic stem cell research. But many were surprised that he did not do so by executive order upon first taking up residence at the White House. Obama explained his thinking to CNN’s John King in an interview that aired two days before the new president was inaugurated.
JOHN KING: You will have the power at the end of that parade to, at the stroke of a pen, lift the federal ban on embryonic stem cell research. There may be the votes to do it in Congress now, but you don’t have to wait, you could do it in your first few minutes in office, will you? BARACK OBAMA: Well, you know, if we can do something legislative, then I usually prefer a legislative process because those are the people’s representatives. And I think that on embryonic stem cell research, the fact that you have a bipartisan support around that issue, the fact that you have Republicans like Orrin Hatch who are fierce opponents of abortion and yet recognize that there is a moral and ethical mechanism to insure that people with Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s can actually find potentially some hope out there, you know, I think that sends a powerful message. So we’re still examining what things we’ll do through executive order. But I like the idea of the American people’s representatives expressing their views on an issue like this.
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