Rick Raw: Judge Stops Stem-cell Research, Blocking President Obama’s 2009 Executive Order

By Rick Grant Commentary rickgrant01@comcast.net

Somewhere on the other side, Christopher Reeves is livid that the advancing science of stem-cell research has now been setback that Judge Royce C. Lamberth. He ruled that Obama’s 2009 executive order expanding stem-cell research violated a 1996 law banning the use of federal money for any research the destroys embryos.

Obama’s order allowed federally funded research to be done on embryonic stem-cells derived from surplus embryos at fertility clinics. These embryos just sit frozen in a liquid nitrogen tank and no one wants them.

Judge Lamberth is a voice from the ignorant religious right rising up like a puritan serpent to skewer the advancement of science. This ruling means an immediate halting of research being done in dozens of labs across the country.

Most stem-cell research has advanced beyond embryo testing. Medical researchers have had great success with implanting stem-cells taken from the organs they are treating, and implanting them to repair damage to that organ. It has worked for heart and liver patients who have had miraculous results. But, the minute you start talking about embryos, the anti-abortion coalition goes berserk.

Of course, pressure from the uptight Republican dunderheads could have influenced the Judge’s ruling. However, the scientists involved with this research and lawyers said the ruling was vague and confusing. The fear among the researchers is the ruling may stop research approved under the more restrictive terms of the Bush administration.

Obama promised to appeal the judge’s ruling. If Judge Lamberth’s ruling is upheld, it will be a "serious blow to medical research," said the" New York Times." The focus of the embryo research is on diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and spinal cord injuries, like Christopher Reeves suffered.

When he was alive, Reeves fought hard to continue embryo research. Despite his handicap, Reeves traveled with his entourage of medical assistants to appear on talk shows and anywhere he could find an audience.

Michael J. Fox, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at 32 years old, continues Reeves battle with the religious right to keep all stem-cell research labs doing this important work. This ruling has all the earmarks of the religious right’s political chicanery.

However, the law guiding the Judge’s decision was the 1996 Dicky-Wicker Amendment which explicitly forbids federal funding for research in which a human embryo is destroyed. The Judge ruled that Obama’s executive order violated the spirit of that law.

In "Politics Daily.com" David Gibson makes a strong point when he said that "new research suggests that adult stem-cells may be at least as effective as embryonic stem-cells. So instead of this endless battle over which is the greater good–protecting nascent life or extending the lives of afflicted adults and children–let’s work together to unlock the promise of adult stem-cells."

So, the work continues on adult stem-cells and the embryonic stem-cell research is shutdown for now. The conflict continues. (References for this piece were gleaned from "The Week.")