Judge stops federal funding of embryonic stem cell research

Anti-abortion lobby persists in trying to stop funding of stem cell research without considering it's benefit to the health of patients. ---BBB

Judge stops federal funding of embryonic stem cell research
By the CNN Wire Staff
August 23, 2010

Washington (CNN) -- A U.S. district judge granted a preliminary injunction Monday to stop federal funding of embryonic stem cell research that he said destroys embryos, ruling it went against the will of Congress.

The ruling by Judge Royce C. Lamberth was a blow to the Obama administration, which last year issued guidelines to allow federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.

Lamberth's ruling said all embryonic stem cell research involves destroying embryos, which violates the Dickey-Wicker Amendment included in federal spending bills.

"The Dickey-Wicker Amendment unambiguously prohibits the use of federal funds for all research in which a human embryo is destroyed," Lamberth's ruling said. "It is not limited to prohibit federal funding of only the 'piece of research' in which an embryo is destroyed. Thus, if ESC [embryonic stem cell] research is research in which an embryo is destroyed, the guidelines, by funding ESC research, violate the Dickey-Wicker Amendment."

The Justice Department was reviewing the decision, spokesperson Tracy Schmaler said.
Video: Stem cell research suffers setback

The field of embryonic stem cells has been highly controversial because the research process involves destroying the embryo, typically four or five days old, after removing stem cells. These cells are then blank and can become any cell in the body.

President Barack Obama signed an executive order in March 2009 that repealed a Bush-era policy limiting federal dollars for human stem cell research. Obama's act permitted the National Institutes of Health to conduct and fund studies on embryonic stem cells.

Some scientists believe embryonic stem cells could help treat many diseases and disabilities, because of their potential to develop into many different cell types in the body.

While some advocates praised the executive order as a giant step forward for medical research, conservatives groups objected, contending that the destruction of human embryos ends human life.

Lamberth was nominated to the federal bench by then-President Ronald Reagan in 1987.