Thanks to the help of the DC Court of Appeals, the National Institutes for Health is speeding up funding for embryonic research projects.
On August 23, U.S. District Chief Judge Royce Lamberth issued an injunction against the funding, saying it likely violates federal law. But Douglas Johnson, legislative director for the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), tells OneNewsNow a higher court has temporarily freed up funding, pending the outcome of the lawsuit. (See earlier story)
"The administration is therefore rushing as fast as it can to spend the money on this research, even though a federal judge has said it's in violation of law," Johnson reports. "This seems to us to be fairly outrageous."
But he points out that proceeding with grants on the research is not the only problem.
"The real danger, however, is that there are some powerful Democratic members of Congress who are pushing for quick action on a bill that would authorize federal funding of this type of research, and indeed would open the door to other types of highly objectionable, federally funded research, including research involving human cloning," the NRLC legislative director explains.
He says it is imperative for people who oppose human embryo research to contact their lawmakers because the bill could come up for a vote soon.
Contact: Charlie Butts
Date Published: September 21, 2010
