An appeals court has overturned a lower court's decision to halt federal funding of research on human embryos.
The court of appeals has put a temporary, administrative halt on Federal Judge Royce Lamberth's decision to end funding for the research while an emergency appeal from the government is considered. The Justice Department asked that the injunction be lifted as the decision is appealed, arguing the funding freeze was causing "irreparable" harm to researchers, the federal government, and the patients hoping for cures.
"[It's] something the circuit court routinely does, and as the court itself said in the order, it does not signal any decision about the merits of the case either way," explains Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) attorney Steven H. Aden. "We remain confident that when the circuit court has heard the voluminous evidence against the legality of experimentation on human embryos that it will agree with Judge Lamberth and put a stop to it."
He adds that the case will continue in the lower court, no matter which way the decision goes.
"We have filed extensive documentation of the position taken by our adult stem-cell researchers that embryonic stem-cell research is illegal, unethical, and unnecessary, given the incredible promise held by the burgeoning adult stem-cell research area," the ADF attorney explains.
The question at hand is whether the Obama administration violated federal law, which bars tax dollars for embryonic stem-cell research that results in killing a human embryo.
Contact: Charlie Butts
Date Published: September 10, 2010
