US stem cell policy reversed

A US court issued a temporary halt Monday to federal funding of embryonic stem cell research that President Barack Obama had authorized, saying it involved the destruction of human embryos.

US District Court Judge Royce Lamberth ruled in favor of some Christian organizations, which had sought a temporary injunction on funding of the research ahead of a planned lawsuit.

"Plaintiffs have demonstrated a strong likelihood of success on the merits," Lamberth said.

"ESC (embryonic stem cell) research is clearly research in which an embryo is destroyed," the ruling said.

"To conduct ESC research, ESCs must be derived from an embryo. The process of deriving ESCs from an embryo results in the destruction of the embryo. Thus, ESC research necessarily depends upon the destruction of a human embryo," he added.

He dismissed claims that researchers would be unfairly targeted by a halt, saying they could still seek private funding.

In March, Obama lifted a ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, lauding potential medical breakthroughs and a new era for US science separate from political ideology.

The president's executive order reversed predecessor George W. Bush's ban, which critics say hampered the fight to find treatments for grave diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and diabetes.

Many researchers believe that stem cells, so called because they are the foundation for all human cells, provide the best chance for a breakthrough in the fight against some of the most serious human diseases.

Scientists believe they may be able to transform the foundational cells into cardiac, pancreatic or brain cells to replace damaged or infected cells and allow tissue or organs to reconstitute themselves.

However, the research is fiercely opposed by religious conservatives, who say that life begins at conception, because it involves the disposal of embryos.

The Justice Department said it was "reviewing the judge's decision."

The administration could choose to appeal the temporary injunction, or alternatively wait until the lawsuit is argued in court.

AFP