Health and Medical Research

Barack Obama (D)

One of Obama’s major initiatives during his time in office was the Affordable Care Act, signed in March 2010. Among other things, this bill created an independent institute to guide reviews and research on comparative effectiveness of medical interventions.

Obama expanded federal funding for research on human embryonic stem cells that met certain ethical guidelines. (See the AAAS Stem Cell Policy Brief for more information on stem cell research funding.)

Mitt Romney (R)

Romney supports repealing the Obama health care reform, arguing that it places an unnecessary regulatory burden on the American public. He also would reform Medicaid into a block grant program to the states.

Romney opposes federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research and says that as president, he would focus on promoting adult stem cell research and alternative methods to derive pluripotent stem cells.