A federal judge ruled earlier this week that federal funding for embryonic stem cells must cease, negating the expansion of federal research funding Obama signed into law in early 2009. This seems to be the crux of the issue:
"The case involves an obscure rider, known as the Dickey-Wicker amendment, that has been attached to annual appropriations bills for the Department of Health and Human Services since 1996. It prohibits the use of federal funds to support research in which embryos are destroyed or discarded. It does not directly address research on stem cells derived from embryos, a field that developed later."
Recent administrations have toed the line; they would not allow federal money to be used to derive the stem cells, which destroys embryos, but allocated research money to stem cell lines created by private funds.
And the kicker - the plaintiffs in the suit are 2 researchers who work with adult stem cells. Apparently they're scared of the potential competition. Ridiculous. The DoJ is appealing the ruling. Godspeed, dear lawyers.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment