Judge Blocks Federal Funding of Embryonic Stem Cell Research

A tug of war is playing out in court between the Obama administration and U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth over the issue of embryonic stem cell research, and Lamberth appears to have prevailed in the latest round.

On Monday, the judge halted federal funding for the research, pointing to a certain Dickey-Wicker Amendment to back up his move, which the Justice Department was busy reviewing later in the day. Over to you, Team Obama. –KA

CNN:

The Dickey-Wicker Amendment unambiguously prohibits the use of federal funds for all research in which a human embryo is destroyed,” Lamberth’s ruling said. “It is not limited to prohibit federal funding of only the ‘piece of research’ in which an embryo is destroyed. Thus, if ESC [embryonic stem cell] research is research in which an embryo is destroyed, the guidelines, by funding ESC research, violate the Dickey-Wicker Amendment.”

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