On his campaign Web site, Obama said he supports the creation of new stem cells from embryos created for in vitro fertilization treatments that would otherwise be discarded.
Current rules put in place by the Clinton administration allow federal money for stem-cell research using embryos provided the work is funded by private money and the embryos come from fertility clinics and would otherwise be discarded.
If pharmacogenomics can help to recruit those patients who should respond to the drug and rule out those who will have adverse reactions, it will rescue useful remedies that would otherwise have been discarded.
Arlen Specter, R-Pennsylvania, had added language to a labor, health and human services spending bill that would have allowed couples to donate research embryos that otherwise would have been discarded, going beyond President Bush's position.