2010-08-24
A federal judge has
issued a preliminary injunction blocking a 2009 Executive
Order issued by President Obama to expand the use of federal funding for
embryonic stem cell research, saying it violated a ban on federal money being
used to destroy embryos. The ruling came as part of a lawsuit brought
against the federal government by two researchers who claimed they could be
harmed by the new policy since they worked exclusively with adult stem cells
and would face increased competition for federal financing under the new
policy.
Soon after taking
office, President Obama announced that he was reversing former President Bush’s
policy limiting federal funding of embryonic stem cell research and instructed
the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to issue appropriate and ethical guidelines for
this research. Seventy-five stem cell lines have thus far been deemed
eligible for federal research funding under these guidelines, which were
finalized in July 2009.
On August 23, U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth issued a
preliminary
injunction that prohibits NIH from funding embryonic stem cell research and
returning federal policy to the “status quo.” However, officials,
scientists, and lawyers involved in the case have said they do not understand
what this means for current research. The U.S. Justice Department
will officially interpret the ruling for the federal government and is
currently reviewing the decision. In the meantime, it is unclear to those
in the research community whether the injunction will affect research using
money already issued to researchers under the NIH guidelines or will merely
block additional funding. Many researchers have indicated they will be
taking a cautious approach in interpreting the decision and will not be using
federal money to do any further work on any embryonic stem cell lines, choosing
instead to either stop their research or use private or state funding, if
available. Many also believe the wording of the court’s decision may
render all scientific work regarding embryonic stem cells illegal, including
work allowed under the more restrictive policy in place during the Bush
Administration.
In his decision,
Judge Lamberth cited legislation passed by Congress in 1996, called the
Dickey-Wicker Amendment, which prohibits federal funding for "research in
which a human embryo or embryos are destroyed, discarded, or knowingly
subjected to risk of injury or death greater than that allowed for research on
fetuses in utero." Previously, the Department of Health and Human
Services had concluded that the NIH's support of embryonic stem cell research
did not violate the amendment if the funds were used only for research
involving the cells – not to procure them. The court ruling, however,
rejected that distinction, citing the “unambiguous intent of Congress to enact
a broad prohibition of funding . . . all research in which an embryo is
destroyed, not just the piece of research in which the embryo is destroyed.”
ASH has been active in supporting stem cell
research. The Society was one of the first physician organizations
to support embryonic stem cell research, and ASH’s policy in
support of all avenues of stem cell research is available online. The
Society strongly supports federal funding for all avenues of stem cell research
under NIH federal research guidelines and with appropriate public
oversight. ASH is also a member of the Coalition for the Advancement of
Medical Research (CAMR), the nation’s most vocal proponent of the use of
regenerative medicine to cure disease and alleviate suffering. In
response to the court’s ruling, CAMR issued a statement
expressing belief “that the extensive, deliberative
process that shaped federal guidelines now in place will be upheld upon further
review.”
ASH
will continue to monitor this issue and provide updates on any developments.
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