The US Court of Appeals in Washington DC yesterday suspended a recent temporary injunction issued by a federal district judge against the use of federal funds for hESC research. Read my earlier post on the injunction. The suspension is temporary, and is intended to allow the appellate court sufficient opportunity to review an emergency appeal filed by the federal government against the district judge’s ruling. In the meantime, activities affected by the injunction can resume.
Whether or not the government’s appeal succeeds, this state of affairs does not bode well for US stem cell policy. The courts are hardly the right venue for setting science policy, especially in an area fraught with social controversy. Opponents of hESC research are also more likely to view any pro-hESC research policy as legitimate if it issued by Congress instead of by way of technical judicial interpretations.
Ubaka Ogbogu
Latest posts by Ubaka Ogbogu (see all)
- Stem cell pseudoscience in the courts? - February 26, 2013
- Federal Government proposes amendments to Canada’s embryo research law - May 18, 2012
- EU stem cell patent ruling: too early to predict impact - October 20, 2011
Comments