San Francisco (Obama.net)- Monday saw Royce C. Lamberth, a United States District Judge, put a stop to embryonic stem cell research funding that was being done by the United States Government. The Obama Administration set out a plan for the allotment of money for the research into stem cells one year ago in order to make the chances for scientific breakthroughs that much greater.
Judge Lamberth felt that the Christian Medical Association and their partners in the lawsuit against the United States Government were correct in their reasoning. The main piece of evidence was the citation of the Dickey Wicker Amendment, which disallows the use of government money for any type of research where the destruction of a human embryo can occur. All government funding must be ceased while the lawsuit is still going up the United States legal system.
President Barack Obama is none too please with the decision and as a result will appeal it, as expected.
According to Dr. Francis Collins, “This will mean very promising research will not get done, screening for new drugs will stop, and researchers who have been energized will likely grow discouraged and move to other countries or on to other research.”
According to the Obama administration, fifty applications for grants will not be reviews, twelve grants valued at nearly twenty million dollars will be paused, and another twenty-two projects already in process and worth 54 million dollars are going to be stopped.
While embryonic stem cell research does in fact mean that a four or five day old embryo must be destroyed, the potential results from the research can lead to the cures for numerous illnesses and disabilities.
Most Americans are split on the issue as some approve of the projects for their potential monumental results. And others are completely against the projects as they see them as science experiments that simply kill potential human beings.
Under Obama’s plans, the National Institutes of Health plan and fund the research projects on embryonic stem cells.
The appeal to reverse the stoppage of funding is set to go before the court by the end of the week.
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