Court of Appeals allows stay of embryonic stem cell funding ruling

A three-judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled yesterday that the government had met the legal standard for a stay of injunction in their appeal of Judge Royce Lamberth's ruling to end the federal funding of embryonic stem cell research.

After the appeals court's Sept. 9 action, the NIH told staff that grants for stem cell research should be given priority given the delay in their issuance. That came after U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth ruled in August that government funding for embryonic stem-cell research was barred by a 1996 law that prohibits the use of federal money for research in which an embryo is destroyed.....

The stay is in place while the appeals court more fully considers the case. It could be several weeks or months before the appeals court issues a final ruling on the legality of the funding. The stay will remain until then.