Science and Technology in the 2012 Presidential Election: 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.