Human embryo exposing the embryonic cells. Image taken by scanning electron micrograph.
Credit: Yorgos Nikas, Wellcome Images
A federal court of appeals in Washington, D.C. ruled 2 to 1 on Friday, April 29, to overturn U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth's order of last August that called for an injunction on taxpayer funding for stem cell research.
Lamberth's ruling -- that National Institute's of Health guidelines allowing use of embryos were illegal and that researchers using taxpayer funds for embryonic stem cell research enjoyed an unfair business advantage -- was put on hold pending appeal.
In March 2009 President Barack Obama lifted the ban his predecessor had placed on federal funding for research on new embryonic stem cell lines in 2001.
Federal law has prohibited the use of public funds on research involving human embryos since 1996, but private funders have been allowed to reproduce embryonic cells from existing cell lines.
The issue will continue to face White House and court reversals until Congress passes definitive legislation on embryonic stem cell research -- something it has avoided doing for decades.
USA Today's Dan Vergano collected responses to the ruling from the academic research community.
Researcher picking colonies of cultured human embryonic stem cells
Credit: Wellcome Library, London
Detailed coverage of the ruling:
Court Lets U.S. Resume Paying for Embryo Study, New York Times, April 29, 2011Appeals Court Vacates Research Funding Ban Courthouse News Service, April 29, 2011
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