Reading this opinion, and being very well versed in the science of stem cells, let me say that I’m shocked at the ignorance of the judge in this case. His factual statements are so far off and so wildly inaccurate as to show, in my opinion, quite a bit of reckless disregard for the impact of his decision, if such a thing is possible in the exercise of judicial powers.
Hopefully, and I’m not a litigator, this can be addressed on appeal. But the fates of many people are tied up in this, in profound ways that this judge appears to not really have fully understood. Perhaps the NIH, in approaching the litigation, did not approach it with appropriate zeal. I think anyone in stem cell research who didn’t try to intercede in this case, should be joining together now in the appeal process for the injunction and thereafter. Major efforts to lobby Congress probably also have to get into high gear.
You can read the decision, here.
By the way, some of the media are reporting that the decision makes stem cell research illegal. I came across this in my brief review of the comments for the New York Times story. This appears to be part of an unfortunate tendency to misreport on the subject of Human Embryonic Stem Cell (“hESC”) research. The ruling makes the NIH policy, stemming from President Bush’s first decision to provide some funding to stem cells, through Obama’s executive order, illegal. That means that Federal Funding for research that destroys, discards, or knowingly subjects embryos to risk of injury or death greater than that allowed for fetuses in utero under federal law is prohibited. It doesn’t mean the research is illegal itself.
For an example of an incorrect article, see The New York Times:
For scientists, the problem with the judge’s reasoning is that it may render all scientific work regarding embryonic stem cells illegal — including work allowed under the more restrictive policy adopted by President George W. Bush in 2001.
I think this is a case where a journalist misheard the point of a lawyer perhaps. The ruling affects Federal Funding for ALL scientific work regarding embryonic stem cells… it doesn’t make the research illegal. The judge is certainly wrong about the impact of his own decision, which will possibly be embarrassing even to him, when he eventually realizes it. However, the NYTimes, in recognizing that the judge got it terribly wrong, takes it too far as well. It’s shocking how many sources get this stuff wrong.
One additional note, the pending NIH approval of a proposed change to the definition of stem cells may yet also have an impact in the context of hESCs. Stay tuned.
