Asia-Pacific

US appeals debate on embryonic stem cell research

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-09-28 08:44

WASHINGTON - A US appeals court heard debate Monday over whether to temporarily suspend a trial judge's ban on federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research. However, the three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit seemed divided over the issue.

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A federal judge last month blocked such funding, saying it violated US law because it involved the destruction of human embryos and put other researchers working with adult stem cells at a competitive disadvantage for federal grants. The injunction was a blow to the Obama administration, which approved federal funds for expanded embryonic stem cell research on March 9, 2009.

The Obama administration appealed and faced tough questions from the panel about what real harms would occur and how the government separates research from the destruction of the embryos.

Judge Thomas Griffith, appointed by President George W. Bush in 2005, was the most aggressive questioner of the government. He suggested that even if federally funded embryonic research is halted now, researchers could resume their experiments later if the government eventually wins in court.

Judge Brett Kavanaugh, another Bush appointee, also asked skeptical questions of Deputy Assistant Attorney General Beth Brinkmann who was arguing to keep the funding in place. Kavanaugh called the government's position "odd" and "internally inconsistent."

Brinkmann said the injunction against the funding was a " setback for the field" and that biological material would be destroyed" at a cost of tens of millions of dollars.

"Research for years would be irreparably harmed," said Brinkmann.

Judge Judith Rogers, a Clinton appointee, appeared the most sympathetic to the government's case. She suggested that even a temporary halt to research funding could damage the public's interest in embryonic stem cell research.

Thomas Hungar, a lawyer for two doctors that oppose the research, said government funding of the research was in clear violation of the law and that "it's all speculation" by the Obama administration that the projects would suffer.

Monday's argument session was scheduled to last 30 minutes, but the judges peppered the lawyers with questions for more than an hour. The appeals court did not say when it might rule.

Embryonic stem cells are cells contained in embryos that have the ability to transform themselves into virtually any other type of cell in the body. Scientists believe that embryonic stem cell research could eventually produce cures for a variety of diseases, including Parkinson's disease, diabetes, heart disease and spinal cord injuries.

However, for some people, the destruction of any embryo is tantamount to murdering a human being. Some religious and political figures hold this view.