Government Appeals Ruling Blocking Stem Cell Research Funding
Christopher Weber
"The government is seeking a stay of the court's injunction to prevent the irreparable human and financial harm that could occur if these life-saving research projects are forced to abruptly shut down," Justice Department spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler told CNN.
The motion to stay was filed with U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth, who last week granted the injunction pushed for by opponents of research in which embryos are destroyed.
Justice Department lawyers asked the judge to grant the stay by Sept. 7. If he doesn't, the government said it will appeal in U.S. Circuit Court, according to CNN.
"The court's order causes irrevocable harm to the millions of extremely sick or injured people who stand to benefit from continuing research as well as to the taxpayers who have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on this research," a Justice Department statement said.
The Food and Drug Administration last month approved rules that would allow human subjects to be used to test a treatment of spinal cord injuries derived from embryonic stem cells. The research was put on hold just weeks later by Lamberth's injunction. Researchers believe embryonic stem cells have great promise in medicine because they're so resilient and malleable. Embryonic stem cells can turn into any type of cell in the body, which may mean they can someday be used to create replacements for injured or diseased tissues.
The cells have been controversial because creating them has required the destruction of human embryos, although researchers say they now avoid that practice, according to The New York Times.