Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Weeks ago, President Barack Obama overturned the protections President Bush put in place to protect taxpayers from having to fund embryonic stem cell research that destroys human life. Now, the National Institutes of Health has released the proposed guidelines that implement Obama's decision, which pro-life groups strenuously opposed.

As expected, the guidelines go much further than the Bush administration's which only allowed federal funding for embryonic stem cell research conducted before his policy was put in place.

"These draft Guidelines would allow funding for research using human embryonic stem cells that were derived from embryos created by in vitro fertilization (IVF) for reproductive purposes and were no longer needed for that purpose," they say.

They describe the conditions and informed consent procedures that would have been required during the derivation of human embryonic stem cells for research using these cells to be funded by the NIH.

The Obama administration, through the NIH guidelines, is not allowing creation of human embryos for the specific purpose of destroying them for research, which is prohibited under a current federal law known as the Dickey amendment.

"NIH funding for research using human embryonic stem cells derived from other sources, including somatic cell nuclear transfer, parthenogenesis, and/or IVF embryos created for research purposes, is not allowed under these Guidelines," the document reads.

However, Obama is thought to be very likely to sign a bill sponsored by Rep. Diana DeGette that would overturn that law and allow what pro-life groups call "fetal farming" -- the specific use of human cloning to create human embryos destined to be destroyed in scientific research.

NIH director Raynard Kington talked with media outlets in a conference call and claimed that embryonic stem cell research would be a boost to overall scientific progress even though, unlike adult stem cells, it has never helped a single patient.

"This is a remarkable development that promises to speed the research that one day may fundamentally change the way we do (medical) research," he said. "There can be no question that these guidelines will greatly expand scientific opportunity."

The guidelines also contain a long list of informed consent procedures and make it so parents know and agree to how the human embryos will be killed and used in scientific experiments. They only apply to research involving federal funds and do not affect research involving state funds or private dollars.

The public will have one month to comment on the new guidelines and the Obama administration is expected to release the final set of rules in July.

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