US Judge Denies to Lift Ban on Stem Cell Fund

Testing Labouratory

 

A US federal judge denied Tuesday the White House's request to drop his decision to temporarily block federal funding for embryonic stem cell reserch pending an appeal of the decision."In this court's view, a stay would flout the will of Congress," Judge Royce Lamberth wrote in his order."Congress remains perfectly free to amend or revise the statute. This court is not free to do so."

Lamberth first issued his injunction on August 23, ruling in favor of a coalition that included several Christian organizations by saying that stem cell research involved the destruction of human embryos.He said the federal funding, which President Barack Obama had authorized, violated the Dickey-Wicker amendment, a federal law barring federal tax funds from being used to fund any research that would cause human embryos to be destroyed.That decision prompted the White House to say it would seek ways to keep the "life-saving" research going.

In Tuesday's order, Lamberth said the Obama administration was "incorrect about much of their 'parade of horribles' that will supposedly result from this Court's preliminary injunction."Obama's March 2009 decision to reverse the ban on federal funds research on embryonic stem cells was lauded by many researchers who believe the field has huge potential for treating serious diseases including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and diabetes.It came after his predecessor George W. Bush had banned federal funding for research on new stem cells for moral and religious reasons.

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