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WASHINGTON, Sept. 2 (UPI) -- Two scientists involved in the lawsuit that has blocked federal funding for embryonic stem cell research say they acted because of ethical objections. Dr. James L. Sherley and Dr. Theresa Deisher both say embryonic stem cell research is morally objectionable and unlikely to produce promised treatments or cures. "We have a responsibility and are taught to do ethical research," Sherley told The Wall Street Journal. "This is impacting the quality of science in this country." Many scientists see embryonic stem cell research as a path to treat a range of diseases because the cells can...

Experts say judge's injunction on using federal funds effectively halts work in labs across the country WEDNESDAY, Aug. 25 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. scientists reacted with dismay to Monday's decision by a U.S. judge to halt any expansion of stem cell research using federal funds. The temporary injunction, which basically blindsided the scientific community, effectively takes embryonic stem cell research back to the pre-2001 days. That was when then-President George W. Bush ordered that federal monies could only be used to fund research involving embryonic stem cell lines created before 2001. Late Tuesday, however, the Obama administration, which had issued...

The Obama administration has approved the bid by cloning company Geron to undertake the first trial involving the use of embryonic stem cells in humans. They have never been used before in people because the cells cause tumors and have been plagued by immune system rejection issues when tried in animals. Scientists and pro-life advocates say human embryonic stem cells are not ready for trial because problems associated with the cells in animals haven't been solved. The Food and Drug Administration had initially placed the trial on hold but Geron indicated today that the agency is now allowing it to...

White House memos from 1997, when Elena Kagan was a top domestic policy advisor to President Clinton, show that Kagan -- nominated to the Supreme Court by President Obama -- recommended that the Clinton administration permit cloning of human embryos for research purposes. Writing just months after Scottish researchers had announced the birth of a cloned sheep, Kagan and another Clinton aide recommended that the president announce a ban on cloning that would lead to the birth of human infants, but emphasized that the policy "would not ban the creation of cloned embryos for research purposes.

Albany, N.Y., Jun 14, 2009 / 05:48 pm (CNA).- New York’s Empire State Stem Cell Board (ESSCB) decided on Thursday to commit funds to pay women to have their eggs harvested for embryo research. A member of the panel’s ethics board charged that the move was a “gross exploitation” of poor women and did not take into account the procedure’s health risks. There was reportedly no period of public comment for the board’s decision. Fr. Thomas Berg, a member of the ESSCB’s Ethics Committee and Executive Director of the Westchester Institute, criticized the board.“Without any involvement from the public,...

OTTAWA, June 27, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) has announced that it will allow the creation of living human embryos specifically for research purposes. Although pro-life advocates working to kill the Liberal government’s 2002 Assisted Reproduction Act predicted that embryonic stem cell research would be the next move--although the bill purported to protect against this type of research--they were roundly criticized as “alarmist” during the debates over the bill. Meanwhile, biotech lobbyists have worked steadily to find ways around the legislation or simply to amend it to get what they wanted: “fresh” embryos made to...

Last week, the same day President Bush vetoed a bill that would have forced taxpayers to further subsidize embryonic stem-cell experimentation, he signed the Fetus Farming Prohibition Act of 2006. The former got lots of negative press; the latter caused barely a stir. The latter bode poorly for embryonic stem-cell research's public image. Better to ignore. At any rate, a ban on fetus farming wasn't controversial, passing unanimously in both the Senate and House. Fetus farming seems far-fetched. But ratifying FFPA scythed a huge swath through plans of embryonic stem-cell harvesters – laudable quick work by pro-life academics and...

July 19, 2006, 8:39 a.m. Anti-Life, Anti-ScienceA Castle of confusion. By Richard M. Doerflinger It all seemed so reasonable and straightforward. Congress’s warring factions in the stem-cell debate had agreed on a civilized plan for moving the issue forward. The U.S. Senate would vote on three bills: the bill to fund stem-cell research requiring the destruction of human embryos, already approved by the House last year; a bill to ban the use of fetal tissue from “fetus farming” (implanting human embryos in human or animal wombs in order to develop them further and harvest their body parts); and a...