A United States court has ruled that federal funds for stem cell research can continue to be used. The federal government’s appeal on a total ban of the controversial research area is still undecided.
The new ruling will overturn a previous suspension of federal funding for embryonic stem cell research which was made by a federal judge. Opposition to the research is strong, with opponents claiming it is in violation of US law because it necessitates the destruction of human embryos.
The government’s lawyers contended that if
the ban were to continue, tens of research projects into diseases would have to
be canned for lack of funding.
The panel who overturned the earlier
suspension, made up of three judges, said that the federal government had
"satisfied the standards required for a stay pending appeal".
A spokesperson from the White House said that the decision was welcomed and that "pursuit of groundbreaking treatments and cures" was a top priority of President Barack Obama. We're heartened that the court will allow NIH and their grantees to continue moving forward while the appeal is resolved."
The unique ability of stem cells to develop into any number of specialized
human tissues makes them central to research into deadly disease prevention and
cure, especially those concerned with degenerative diseases like Parkinson’s
and Alzheimer’s disease.
The research is strongly opposed on ethical grounds, because of the use of living human embryos. Lawyers for the opposition hope “the court will ultimately end taxpayer funding of unlawful, unnecessary and unethical experiments on living human embryos.”
