The top Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives urged President Barack Obama to "reevaluate" his decision to lift limits on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.
"The president has rolled back important protections for innocent life, further dividing our nation at a time when we need greater unity to tackle the challenges before us," charged Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner.
"As we move forward, I am hopeful that the president will reevaluate this and other controversial decisions that put government at odds with the sanctity of human life," Boehner said in a statement released by his office.
Obama last week signaled he hoped to rescind a federal rule that would allow health care workers to deny medical care such as birth control or abortion to patients if it clashes with their morals.
And days after taking office, Obama overturned what he described as an "unwarranted" eight-year ban on US government funding for family-planning groups that carry out or facilitate abortions overseas.
In the statement, Boehner underlined that research on non-embryonic stem cells was "is not only showing great promise in the laboratory, but its applications are already being used to treat scores of diseases and medical conditions."
"Science and respect for human life can coexist," said Boehner.
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