WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Stunned and disappointed Obama administration officials said yesterday they would appeal a federal court ruling that temporarily barred federal funding of embryonic stem cell research.
The administration will ask the U.S. Court of Appeals to lift the preliminary injunction issued on Monday, Justice Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
Current research worth about $131 million can go ahead, but research proposals being evaluated for potential funding will be “pulled out of the stack,” National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins said.
Democratic Senator Tom Harkin, who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labour and Pensions Committee, said he was calling a hearing for Thursday on the matter.
“This ruling should be appealed and I fully believe that it will be overturned. Embryonic stem cell research offers hope to millions of Americans who are suffering from debilitating and life-threatening diseases, and it must be allowed to proceed,” Harkin said in a statement.
Allowing federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research was one of the first acts of newly elected President Barack Obama last year, and exultant scientists applauded when he overturned predecessor George W. Bush’s limitations on the science.
Supporters of human embryonic stem cell research say it is vital to carry it out alongside other types of stem cell research to understand how to transform cells into desired tissue types and treat diseases ranging from juvenile diabetes to blindness.
