US District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Royce Lamberth issued a preliminary injunction yesterday in the case of Sherley v. Sebelius, US Dist Court - DC, Civ. No. 1:09-cv-1575, August 23, 2010. The injunction was granted "to enjoin defendants from implementing the [NIH] Guidelines [for Human Stem Cell Research] because the Guidelines allow federal funding of ESC [Embryonic Stem Cell] research, which involves the destruction of embryos."
"Because ESC research requires the derivation of ESCs, ESC research is research in which an embryo is destroyed. Accordingly, the Court concludes that, by allowing federal funding of ESC research, the Guidelines are in violation of the Dickey-Wicker Amendment." Further, "it is in the public interest to enjoin defendants from implementing the Guidelines because the Guidelines allow federal funding of ESC research, which involves the destruction of embryos."
More information on stem cell research in Massachusetts is available at Mass. Law About Stem Cell Research.
