CLS Releases Public Statement on Stem Cell Ruling

Today, Dr. Keith Yamamoto, Chair of the Coalition for the Life Sciences, issued a strong statement in response to Federal District Court Judge Royce Lamberth’s preliminary injunction blocking President Obama’s 2009 executive order expanding funding for human embryonic stem cell (ESC) research. He stressed, “Amidst this legal sparring, those who stand to be truly injured by this ruling are patients and their families who desperately need therapies and cures for disease, those who suffer daily from chronic and fatal disorders.”

Judge Lamberth ruled that the Dickey-Wicker amendment signals the “unambiguous” intent of Congress to prohibit the expenditure of federal funds on research in which a human embryo or embryos are destroyed. Yet at least two Congresses (one Democrat and one Republican-controlled) and three Presidential Administrations (Clinton, Bush, and Obama) saw no contradiction between Dickey-Wicker and federal funding for ESC research.

On behalf of the CLS, Dr. Yamamoto urged Congress to quickly and decisively pass legislation that ensures continued federal funding to support research on stem cells derived from human embryos. This research, while still in its infancy, was moving forward with great momentum. If this ruling is not overturned, all the promising federal funded research using ESCs will be halted by summer 2011.  Dr. Yamamoto went on to say, “As researchers who depend heavily on federal funds for our work—including research on ESCs—we enter our labs every day with the hope that we will uncover causes and discover new treatments and cures for disease. ESC lines are bright beacons for that research. Federal funding ensures that this research receives full public scrutiny and that the public interest is protected.”

The CLS will continue to work with Congress and the Administration to ensure that this vital research will continue.

Click here to view a copy of the letter the CLS sent to Capitol Hill.