Opinion: Science Shoved Aside in Stem Cell Ruling

(Aug. 25) -- Federal funding for stem cell research is once again being held back by politics. Monday, a federal court, in granting an injunction against federally funded human embryonic stem cell research, allowed a vocal minority to hold science hostage to a narrow political agenda.

Judge Royce Lamberth's injunction was issued on the grounds that the guidelines for human embryonic stem cell research "clearly violate" the Dickey-Wicker Amendment, which prohibits the Department of Health and Human Services from using appropriated funds for the creation of human embryos for research purposes or for research in which human embryos are destroyed.

Dickey-Wicker was created in 1996, before the field of stem cell research even existed, and it was created to be a deterrent to abortion, not to slow down the most promising medical research of our time. But the opponents of stem cell research, in their determination to block the progress of science, are using the old law to new purposes. It will mean, among other things, that more than 400,000 frozen embryos left over from IVF treatments that could have been used for medical research will instead be discarded as medical waste. Is this what is meant by "pro life"?

It's time for Congress to take a stand, remove the Dickey-Wicker Amendment and finally untie the hands of our scientists by allowing the National Institutes of Health to fund the derivation of new stem cell lines. The current restrictive federal policy on human embryonic stem cell research is holding back our best scientific minds and discouraging young scientists from entering this incredibly promising and dynamic area of endeavor.

Although we are confident that the court's decision will not be upheld, the net effect of this ruling is to slow the progress of advancing revolutionary new therapies that have the potential to advance cures and successful treatments for a broad range of diseases and conditions, including diabetes, cancer, AIDS, ALS, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, spinal-cord injury, blindness, cardiovascular disease, and bone and cartilage regeneration.

For eight years under President George W. Bush, human embryonic stem cell research had been a hostage of presidential politics. The previous administration's ban cost researchers precious time in the race for new cures, treatments and discoveries, and it put the United States at a serious disadvantage in its position as an international leader in scientific progress. Last year's executive order by President Barack Obama changed that, lifting many restrictions on federal funding for research on new stem cell lines derived from human embryos, and reaffirming our nation's determination to be in the front line of science, not the rear guard.

But Monday's opinion by Judge Lamberth brings scientists to a worse state than the Bush administration days. Ironically, now research will even be banned on the human embryonic stem cell lines that the Bush administration approved and the NIH funded for eight years.

Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, stated Tuesday that the NIH will stop its review of roughly a dozen grants for stem cell research worth between $15 million and $20 million, will freeze the renewal of another 22 grants worth $54 million and will not even look at 50 new grant applications for important research using human embryonic stem cells. There is no clearer proof than that of the chilling effect this decision will have on medical research in this country. The American people, the president and the Congress clearly support embryonic stem cell research directed toward the curing of disease and want the United States to be encouraging, not blocking, medical research. But Monday, the courts dashed the hopes of tens of millions of Americans.

Five years ago, the New York Stem Cell Foundation was created to encourage and support the most advanced stem cell research possible. We will continue steadfastly and tirelessly to support and advance this work because of its urgency and its importance to the lives of our loved ones, and of patients everywhere.

Susan L. Solomon is co-founder and CEO of the New York Stem Cell Foundation.

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