WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama signed an executive order Monday repealing a Bush-era policy that limited federal tax dollars for embryonic stem cell research. President Obama signs the executive order on stem cell policy Monday at the White House. Obama's move overturns an order signed by President Bush in 2001 that barred the National Institutes of Health from funding research on embryonic stem cells beyond using 60 cell lines that existed at that time. Obama also signed a presidential memorandum establishing greater independence for federal science policies and programs. "In recent years, when it comes to stem cell research, rather than furthering discovery, our government has forced what I believe is a false choice between sound science and moral values," Obama said at the White House.
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NEW: Former first lady Nancy Reagan thanks President Obama for lifting funding ban
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Obama: "We have been given the capacity and will to pursue this research"
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Bush-era policy on embryonic stem cell research reversed
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Advocates: Move could boost medical progress; critics object to embryo destruction
@placeholder's critics argued the former president allowed political factors improperly to influence funding decisions for science initiatives as well as to skew official government findings on issues such as global warming.