Tag Archives: ZZ: Sherley v. Sebelius

World Magazine: Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys who argued on behalf of the two researchers said the success of adult stem cell research has made federally funded research on embryonic stem cells “irrelevant.”

Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News: “Congress designed a law to ensure that Americans don’t pay any more precious taxpayer dollars for needless research made irrelevant by adult stem cell and other research. That law is clear, and we had hoped the U.S. Supreme Court would uphold its clear intent,” Steven H. Aden, senior counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, which co-litigated the case for Drs. Sherley and Deisher. “Americans should not be forced to pay for experiments that destroy human life, have produced no real-world treatments, and violate federal law—especially in burdened fiscal times like these.”

Baptist Press: “Americans should not be forced to pay for experiments that destroy human life, have produced no real-world treatments, and violate federal law — especially in burdened fiscal times like these,” said Steven H. Aden, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, which helped litigate the case against the Obama administration. “Congress designed a law to ensure that Americans don’t pay any more precious taxpayer dollars for needless research made irrelevant by adult stem cell and other research,” Aden said in a news release. “That law is clear, and we had hoped the U.S. Supreme Court would uphold its clear intent.”

Cheryl Wetzstein at Washington Times: Congress passed legislation in 1996 “to ensure that Americans don’t pay any more precious taxpayer dollars for needless research made irrelevant by adult stem-cell and other research,” said Steven H. Aden, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). “We had hoped the U.S. Supreme Court would uphold [the law’s] clear intent.” ADF was one of the legal-defense groups representing plaintiffs Dr. James L. Sherley and Theresa Deisher, both scientists whose research uses only adult stem cells.

The HIll: “Americans should not be forced to pay for experiments that destroy human life, have produced no real-world treatments, and violate federal law — especially in burdened fiscal times like these,” said Steven Aden, senior counsel for The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a Christian group that helped bring the case. “Congress designed a law to ensure that Americans don’t pay any more precious taxpayer dollars for needless research made irrelevant by adult stem cell and other research. That law is clear, and we had hoped the U.S. Supreme Court would uphold its clear intent.”

World Magazine: Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys, who argued on behalf of the two researchers, said the success of adult stem cell research has made research on embryonic stem cells “irrelevant.” . . . The Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys challenging that policy on behalf of the two scientists argued that the guidelines gave incentive to destroy embryos, thus violating Dickey-Wicker. They also argued that the line between those destroying the embryos and the federal researchers using the destroyed embryos was fuzzy. But the D.C. Circuit and the Supreme Court rejected those arguments.

NBC: Steven Aden, senior counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian legal center that helped litigate the case, criticized the decision Monday, saying the 1996 law “is clear, and we had hoped the U.S. Supreme Court would uphold its clear intent.” “Americans should not be forced to pay for experiments that destroy human life, have produced no real-world treatments and violate federal law — especially in burdened fiscal times like these,” he said.

Christian Newswire: Today, on behalf of the adult stem researchers it represents, the Jubilee Campaign’s Law of Life Project and their co-counsel at the Alliance Defending Freedom and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, expressed great disappointment that the United State Supreme Court declined to hear their petition for certiorari.

LifeNews: Thomas G. Hungar, one of the lawyers for the plaintiffs, which includes the Alliance Defense Fund and the Christian Medical Association, said in 2009 when the lawsuit was filed, “the language of the [Dickey-Wicker] statute is clear” that it “bans public funding for any research that leads to the destruction of human embryos.” . . . Sam Casey, General Counsel of Advocates International’s Law of Life Project, a public interest legal project involved in the case, pointed out that NIH officials have admitted they violated the public comment process by ignoring the majority of comments coming from pro-life advocates opposed to destroying unborn children for their stem cells.

“Americans should not be forced to pay for experiments that destroy human life, have produced no real-world treatments, and violate federal law–especially in burdened fiscal times like these. Congress designed a law to ensure that Americans don’t pay any more precious taxpayer dollars for needless research made irrelevant by adult stem cell and other research. That law is clear, and we had hoped the U.S. Supreme Court would uphold its clear intent.”

AP: The Supreme Court won’t stop the government’s funding of embryonic stem cell research, despite some researchers’ complaints that the work relies on destroyed human embryos.

FRC: We’re also grateful for their gutsy legal team–Tom Hungar of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Sam Casey of Law of Life Project, Steve Aden of Alliance Defending Freedom, and their colleagues, who gave this battle–and so many innocent lives–their absolute best.

FRC Blog (1/4 – links to filings): If you’ve lost track of where things are with the federal lawsuit to stop taxpayer funding of destructive embryonic stem cell research, here’s the update. | also posted at LifeNews

One News Now: Alliance Defending Freedom is asking the court to review an appeals court decision that allows federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research to continue. . . . “Americans shouldn’t be forced to pay for experiments that destroy human life, have produced no real-world treatments and violate federal law, especially in economic times like these,” contends ADF senior counsel Steven H. Aden.

FRC: Alliance Defending Freedom and the Jubilee Campaign together with Tom Hungar of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher today filed a petition for certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court in the case Sherley v. Sebelius, which seeks to end federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research. Of the petition David Prentice , Ph.D., senior fellow for life sciences at the Family Research Council’s Center for Human Life and Bioethics, made the following comments . . . | Also at Meldicka.net

Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys together with Samuel B. Casey of the Jubilee Campaign’s Law of Life Project and Tom Hungar of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP, asked the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday to review an appellate court ruling that allows federal funding of embryonic stem cell research to continue.

Americans should not be forced to pay for experiments that destroy human life, have produced no real-world treatments, and violate federal law. That law’s clear intent has been utterly ignored.”

Ken Connor at Townhall: This week, another of the President’s infamous “compromises” is in the spotlight, namely his executive order expanding federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. Stymied by existing law limiting the government’s involvement in this ethically troubling area of “scientific” work, the President crafted a workaround based on rhetorical hair-splitting, issued his order, and the dollars began flowing. The Alliance Defense Fund filed suit to enjoin the funding and in 2010 a federal judge issued a temporary injunction blocking the executive order. [also available at Renew America]

One News Now: “This case is challenging President Obama’s executive order to really ignore the federal law that protects American tax dollars from being used to destroy human embryos and goes ahead and has funded millions and millions of dollars’ worth of destructive research,” Bowman shares.

The Blog of the Legal Times: A top U.S. Justice Department appellate lawyer, defending a controversial Obama administration executive order, today said federal funding restrictions do not prohibit research involving human embryonic stem cells.

Available for media interviews following oral arguments in Sherley v. Sebelius, a lawsuit challenging an Obama administration policy that authorized the National Institutes of Health to fund additional research projects that destroy human embryos even though a federal law known as the Dickey/Wicker Amendment specifically prohibits such funding.

Prof Life Blogs: Today, on behalf of the adult stem researchers it represents, the Jubilee Campaign’sLaw of Life Project and their co-counsel at the Alliance Defense Fund and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, filed their opening Appellants’ Brief asking the United States Court of Appeals to “reverse the district court’s judgment in favor of Defendants, reverse the grant of Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment and the denial of [Appellants'] Motion for Summary Judgment, and remand with directions to enter summary judgment for [Appellants].”

Catholic News Agency (CNA): The Notice of Appeal was filed on September 19 by Jubilee Campaign’s Law of Life Project and their co-counsel at the Alliance Defense Fund and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.

ProLife Blogs: Today, on behalf of the adult stem researchers it represents, the Jubilee Campaign’s Law of Life Project and their co-counsel at the Alliance Defense Fund and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, filed their Notice of Appeal asking the United States Court of Appeals to reinstate their case dismissed by United States District Court for the District of Columbia in its July 27 decision . . .

LifeNews.com: he appeal was filed by the Jubilee Campaign, a Christian law firm, and their co-counsel at the Alliance Defense Fund and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. The Obama administration, via the National Institute of Health’s regulations permitted the federal funding of “research in which” human embryos are “knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death.” Sam Casey, pro-life attorney arguing the case, commented on the appeal, saying, “Each time grant-awarding officials and federally funded scientists support or engage in hESC research, living human embryos are ‘knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death,’ in violation of the federal law known as the Dickey-Wicker Amendment.

Christian Newswire: Today, on behalf of the adult stem researchers it represents, the Jubilee Campaign’s Law of Life Project and their co-counsel at the Alliance Defense Fund and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, filed their Notice of Appeal asking the United States Court of Appeals to reinstate their case dismissed by United States District Court for the District of Columbia in its July 27 decision based upon the district court’s interpretation of the Court of Appeal’s April 29 ruling vacating the district court’s August 23, 2010 preliminary injunction of the National Institute of Health’s regulations that Obama administration promulgated to permit the federal funding of “research in which” human embryos are “knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death.”

American Medical News: he plaintiffs have not decided whether to appeal Lamberth’s dismissal but are considering all options, said Steve Aden, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund in Washington, part of the plaintiffs’ legal team. “In these tough economic times, it makes no sense for the federal government to use taxpayer money for this illegal and unethical purpose.”

American Medical News: The plaintiffs have not decided whether to appeal Lamberth’s dismissal but are considering all options, said Steve Aden, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund in Washington, part of the plaintiffs’ legal team. “In these tough economic times, it makes no sense for the federal government to use taxpayer money for this illegal and unethical purpose.”

CNS: “Americans should not be forced to pay for experiments that destroy human life, have produced no real-world treatments and violate federal law,” Aden said in a July 27 statement. “The law is clear, and we intend to review all of our options for appeal of this decision. “In these tough economic times, it makes no sense for the federal government to use taxpayer money for this illegal and unethical purpose,” he added.

OneNewsNow.com: “Americans should not be forced to pay for experiments that destroy human life, have produced no real-world treatments, and violate federal law,” he contends. “The district court’s injunction simply enforced that law, which makes sure Americans don’t pay any more precious taxpayer dollars for needless research made irrelevant by adult stem-cell and other research.”

Chemical & Engineering News: The litigation, however, is likely to continue. The plaintiffs plan to review all options for an appeal, according to their attorney, Steven H. Aden of the Alliance Defense Fund. “In these tough economic times, it makes no sense for the federal government to use taxpayer money for this illegal and unethical purpose,” Aden says.

The New American: James Sherley, one of the plaintiffs in the suit, who uses adult stem cells in his research, was set to file an appeal of the verdict, with the aid of the Alliance Defense Fund, which represented him and Theresa Deisher in the lawsuit. “Americans should not be forced to pay for experiments that destroy human life, have produced no real-world treatments, and violate federal law,” ADF senior counsel Steven Aden said after the verdict. “The law is clear, and we intend to review all of our options for appeal of this decision.”

Daily Kos: Sherley and Deisher can appeal the ruling. The Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative organization that assisted with the lawsuit, said in a statement that its attorneys and other lawyers involved in the case were “weighing all of their options for appeal.”

NCRegister.com subcaption: Americans should not be forced to pay for experiments that destroy human life, have produced no real-world treatments, and violate federal law,’ said Steven Aden, senior council at the Alliance Defense Fund, which supported the lawsuit. The group is reviewing its options for appeal.

Missouri Lawyers Media (subscription) (blog) – Tom Schoenberg, Scott Lauck – ‎16 hours ago‎ Their lawyer, Steven Aden of the Alliance Defense Fund, said his clients are weighing all of their options for an appeal. Missouri Cures, a nonprofit organization that helped pass a 2006 state constitutional amendment passage that protects the ability …

Christian Post: “Americans should not be forced to pay for experiments that destroy human life, have produced no real-world treatments, and violate federal law,” said ADF senior counsel Steven H. Aden. “The law is clear, and we intend to review all of our options for appeal of this decision,” he added. “In these tough economic times, it makes no sense for the federal government to use taxpayer money for this illegal and unethical purpose.”

International Business Times: “American should not be forced to pay for experiments that destroy human life, have produced no real-world treatments, and would violate federal law,” said ADF senior counsel Steven Aden. “The law is clear, and we intend to review all our options for appeal of this decision. “In these tough economic times, it makes no sense for the federal government to use taxpayer money for this illegal and unethical purpose.”

World Net Daily: ADF said, “The judge explained that he believes his hands have been tied by an appellate court decision that reversed his August 2010 order to stop the funding in light of a federal law that prohibits it.” ADF Senior Counsel Steven H. Aden said Americans “should not be forced to pay for experiments that destroy human life, have produced no real-world treatments, and violate federal law.” “The district court’s injunction simply enforced that law, which makes sure Americans don’t pay any more precious taxpayer dollars for needless research made irrelevant by adult stem cell and other research,” he said. “The law is clear, and we intend to review all of our options for appeal of this decision. In these tough economic times, it makes no sense for the federal government to use taxpayer money for this illegal and unethical purpose.”

Christian Post: “Americans should not be forced to pay for experiments that destroy human life, have produced no real-world treatments, and violate federal law,” said ADF Senior Counsel Steven H. Aden in a statement. “The district court’s injunction simply enforced that law, which makes sure Americans don’t pay any more precious taxpayer dollars for needless research made irrelevant by adult stem cell and other research. The law is clear, and we intend to review all of our options for appeal of this decision. In these tough economic times, it makes no sense for the federal government to use taxpayer money for this illegal and unethical purpose.”

Warren Richey at the Christian Science Monitor via the Alaska Dispatch: “Americans should not be forced to pay for experiments that destroy human life, have produced no real-world treatments, and violate federal law,” said Steven Aden, senior counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund. “In these tough economic times, it makes no sense for the federal government to use taxpayer money for this illegal and unethical purpose,” Mr. Aden said in a statement.

Eryn Brown at the San Francisco Chronicle: Sherley and Deisher can appeal the ruling. The Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative organization that assisted with the lawsuit, said in a statement that its attorneys and other lawyers involved in the case were “weighing all of their options for appeal.”

Carolyn Y. Johnson at The Boston Globe: “The law is clear, and we intend to review all of our options for appeal of this decision,’’ said Steven H. Aden, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, a nonprofit alliance of Christian attorneys that was cocounsel in the lawsuit.

The Washington Post: ttorneys involved in the challenge, including Alliance Defense Fund senior counsel Steven Aden, said that they were weighing their options for appeal of the ruling.
“Americans should not be forced to pay for experiments that destroy human life, have produced no real-world treatments and violate federal law,” he said. “In these tough economic times, it makes no sense for the federal government to use taxpayer money for this illegal and unethical purpose.”

LaTimes.com: Sherley and Deisher can appeal the ruling. The Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative organization that assisted with the lawsuit, said in a statement that its attorneys and other lawyers involved in the case were “weighing all of their options for appeal.”

WSJ.com: Alliance Defense Fund senior counsel Steven Aden, one of the lawyers for the scientists, suggested the legal fight wasn’t over. “We’re evaluating all of our options for appeal,” he said.

NPR: “The law is clear, and we intend to review all of our options for appeal of this decision,” said a statement from Steven Aden of the Alliance Defense Fund. “In these tough economic times, it makes no sense for the federal government to use taxpayer money for this illegal and unethical purpose.” | Hundreds of reports appear in connection with this ruling.

ScienceInsider: Steven Aden of the Alliance Defense Fund in Washington, D.C., one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys, said in a statement that they “are weighing all of their options for appeal.” The plaintiffs’ first recourse would be to go back to the appeals court, where the same three-member panel would probably hear the case, says Greely. If they lose again, which seems likely, the plaintiffs can appeal to the Supreme Court. “I think they will lose [in the Supreme Court], but it’s probably worth it for them to give it a shot,” says Greely.

DF said today it might appeal the dismissal, which was viewed as a White House victory.
“Americans should not be forced to pay for experiments that destroy human life, have produced no real-world treatments, and violate federal law,” said ADF senior counsel Steven Aden. “The district court’s injunction simply enforced that law, which makes sure Americans don’t pay any more precious taxpayer dollars for needless research made irrelevant by adult stem cell and other research. The law is clear, and we intend to review all of our options for appeal of this decision. In these tough economic times, it makes no sense for the federal government to use taxpayer money for this illegal and unethical purpose.”

LifeNews.com: The Alliance Defense Fund, responding to today’s ruling by Judge Lamberth saying he must follow the decision of a Federal appeals court that wanted the case thrown out, said its attorneys will join Samuel B. Casey of the Jubilee Campaign’s Law of Life Project and pro-life attorney Tom Hungar to consider filing the appeal. The pro-life legal team members are weighing all of their options for appeal in light of a federal judge’s ruling that the embryonic funding can continue despite it violating a 1996 law prohibiting the funding of research destroying human embryos.

Charisma: Alliance Defense Fund attorneys, together with Samuel B. Casey of the Jubilee Campaign’s Law of Life Project and Tom Hungar of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP, are weighing all appeal options. “Americans should not be forced to pay for experiments that destroy human life, have produced no real-world treatments and violate federal law,” said ADF Senior Counsel Steven H. Aden. “The district court’s injunction simply enforced that law, which makes sure Americans don’t pay any more precious taxpayer dollars for needless research made irrelevant by adult stem cell and other research. The law is clear, and we intend to review all of our options for appeal of this decision. In these tough economic times, it makes no sense for the federal government to use taxpayer money for this illegal and unethical purpose.”

Nature News Blog: Today, Lamberth wrote: “While it may be true that by following the Court of Appeals’ conclusion as to the ambiguity of “research,” this Court has become a grudging partner in a bout of “linguistic jujitsu”, such is life for a [lower] court.” . . . Plaintiffs’ attorney Stephen Aden of the Washington, D.C.-based Alliance Defense Fund, portrayed Lamberth as having his “hands tied” by the court of appeals’ April decision. “Americans should not be forced to pay for experiments that destroy human life, have produced no real-world treatments, and violate federal law,” Aden said in a statement. “The law is clear, and we intend to review all of our options for appeal of this decision.”

LifeNews.com: Thomas G. Hungar, one of the lawyers for the plaintiffs, which includes the Alliance Defense Fund and the Christian Medical Association, said in 2009 when the lawsuit was filed, “the language of the [Dickey-Wicker] statute is clear” that it “bans public funding for any research that leads to the destruction of human embryos.” “NIH’s attempt to avoid Congress’s command by funding everything but the act of ‘harvesting’ is pure sophistry. The guidelines will result in the destruction of human embryos and are unlawful, unethical, and unnecessary,” he told LifeNews.com at the time.

USATODAY.com: Reached by phone, Steve Aden of the Alliance Defense Fund, which supported the lawsuit by researcher James Sherley of the Boston Biomedical Research Institute, says, “we think the law is clear and intend to examine all our options to appeal.” ADF is a “network of attorneys brings a wealth of experience to the fight to defend religious freedom, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family,” according to its website.

Boston Globe: In a statement, attorneys who brought the lawsuit said they are considering next steps. “The law is clear, and we intend to review all of our options for appeal of this decision,” said Steven H. Aden, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, a nonprofit alliance of Christian attorneys and co-counsel in the lawsuit.

Reuters at Chicagotribune.com: Attorneys involved in the challenge, including Alliance Defense Fund senior counsel Steven Aden, said they were weighing their options for appeal of the ruling. “Americans should not be forced to pay for experiments that destroy human life, have produced no real-world treatments, and violate federal law,” he said. “In these tough economic times, it makes no sense for the federal government to use taxpayer money for this illegal and unethical purpose.”

Federal judge says federal funding of embryonic stem cell research will continue in light of higher court’s decision to reverse his decision

A federal judge has dismissed one of the lawsuits filed against President Barack Obama’s executive order forcing taxpayers to finance embryonic stem cell research involving the destruction of human life.

Christian Newswire (6/24): Today, on behalf of the adult stem researchers it represents, the Jubilee Campaign’s Law of Life Project and their co-counsel at the Alliance Defense Fund and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, following a second remand from the United States Court of Appeals, filed its “supplemental brief” asking the United States District Court to provide summary judgment on each of their clients’ claims based on the National Institute of Health’s clear violation of two separate laws: (1) the Dickey-Wicker Amendment that bars federal funding of any “research in which” human embryos are “knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death;” and, (2) the Administrative Procedure Act that prohibits a government agency, from patently ignoring or prejudging public comments submitted in opposition to unlawful agency action, like NIH has been and is doing in this case. [numerous hyperlinks available at the Christian Newswire site]

LifeNews: TThomas G. Hungar, one of the lawyers for the plaintiffs, which includes the Alliance Defense Fund and the Christian Medical Association, said in 2009 when the lawsuit was filed, “the language of the [Dickey-Wicker] statute is clear” that it “bans public funding for any research that leads to the destruction of human embryos.” “NIH’s attempt to avoid Congress’s command by funding everything but the act of ‘harvesting’ is pure sophistry. The guidelines will result in the destruction of human embryos and are unlawful, unethical, and unnecessary,” he told LifeNews.com at the time. Sam Casey, General Counsel of Advocates International’s Law of Life Project, a public interest legal project involved in the case, pointed out . . .

Russell Korobkin at the Volokh Conspiracy: The bottom line is that, while last week’s decision preserved the status quo of permitting federal funding for now, it probably did not resolve anything. The strong odds now are that Judge Lamberth will grant the plaintiffs summary judgment in the lawsuit, reiterating his interpretation of Dickey-Wicker Amendment, that the D.C. Circuit will stay the ruling pending appeal, and that all the parties will wait while the D.C. Circuit considers essentially the same issue again.

Law360.com: The plaintiffs are represented by Samuel Casey of Advocates International, Steven Aden of Alliance Defense Fund and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP’s Thomas Hungar, Bradley Lingo and Ryan J. Watson.

Thomas G. Hungar, one of the lawyers for the plaintiffs, which includes the Alliance Defense Fund and the Christian Medical Association, said in 2009 when the lawsuit was filed, “the language of the [Dickey-Wicker] statute is clear” that it “bans public funding for any research that leads to the destruction of human embryos.” “NIH’s attempt to avoid Congress’s command by funding everything but the act of ‘harvesting’ is pure sophistry. The guidelines will result in the destruction of human embryos and are unlawful, unethical, and unnecessary,” he told LifeNews.com at the time.

LifeNews: “Taking advantage of an appeals court ruling striking down an injunction against his forcing Americans to pay for embryonic stem cell research, the Obama administration is looking at more funding . . . ”

One News Now: Matt Bowman  an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund . . .  We’re hopeful that the [DC] Court of Appeals will agree with the district court that simply made sure Americans don’t pay any more of their precious taxpayer dollars for needless research…made irrelevant by adult stem cell and other research that actually treats people.” ADF is asking the court to rule that the administration is violating federal law and halt the use of tax money for the research.

LifeNews: Alliance Defense Fund legal counsel Matt Bowman talked with the Christian Post about the case and said that, while it continues, the Obama administration continues to make taxpayers fund embryonic stem cell research. “The government is shoveling tax dollars out the door while it can,” he said. “Americans should not be forced to pay for experiments that destroy human life, have produced no real-world treatments, and violate federal law.” “They focused more on that desire (to explore the alleged benefits of embryonic stem cell research) than the statutes that say taxpayer money should not be spent in this destructive way,” Bowman said of the Obama administration’s attorneys.

Christian Post: The Alliance Defense Fund argued for an injunction on the federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. Currently, a temporary stay is allowing researchers to receive federal grants to fund research using embryonic stem cells.
ADF legal counsel Matt Bowman says the Obama administration is taking full advantage of the stay.“The government is shoveling tax dollars out the door while it can,” he stated . . .

Alliance Defense Fund Legal Counsel Matt Bowman will be available for media interviews Monday following oral arguments before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in Sherley v. Sebelius.

LifeNews: “The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia will hear oral arguments Monday in the appeal of a lower court ruling related to the lawsuit brought by stem cell research scientists . . . [Steven Aden], a lead attorney for the Alliance Defense Fund applauded [the lower court's ruling]. ‘The American people should not be forced to pay for experiments — prohibited by federal law — that destroy human life,’ he said.”

WisBusiness.com: “Governor Doyle has pledged to assist the U.S. Department of Justice in its efforts to uphold the guidelines and secure federal funding for stem cell researchers in Wisconsin and across the nation. ”

Baptist Press: “Scientists at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute in Boston, Mass., published studies showing they had reprogrammed adult skin cells into induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells without the hazards previously associated with the technique. Unlike previous conversions of adult cells into stem cells virtually identical to those in embryos, these iPS cells did not require the use of viruses to insert genes into cells — a technique which increases the risk of cancer in the recipient of the cells.”

“A team of researchers at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute in Boston published a series of experiments Thursday showing that synthetic biological signals can quickly reprogram ordinary skin cells into entities that appear virtually identical to embryonic stem cells.”

ADF attorney Steve Aden appeared on KCMN with Tron Simpson to provide an update on the embryonic stem cell litigation. | MP3 audio 7:10 mins

OneNewsNow: “‘The American taxpayers said 15 years ago that public funding cannot be provided for embryonic stem-cell research, and this is a test in the courts [on] whether the rule of law will be upheld or whether taxpayer dollars will continue to be used for research that has proven to be unproductive, unlawful, and unethical,’ ADF attorney [Steve Aden] comments about the latest decision.”

The New American: “The Alliance Defense Fund is involved in the lawsuit that challenges the use of federal funds for embryonic stem-cell research. [Steven Aden], senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund reacted to the Appeals Court decision. ‘We believe it’s a shame that they would rush to push funding of embryonic stem cell research, and a waste of taxpayer money.’”

“A federal appeals court has lifted the injunction a federal judge put in place stopping President Barack Obama from forcing taxpayers to finance unproven embryonic stem cell research while scientists continue with their lawsuit against the funding.”