The following excerpts are from:
the American Medical News  article, "Stem-cell research's future clouded
by suit, policy review"

By Tanya Albert,  May 28, 2001.
http://www.ama-assn.org/sci-pubs/amnews

" The Dept. of Health and Human Services is reviewing Clinton
administration guidelines that laid out rules for federally funded
embryonic stem-cell research projects. There's no date set for a ruling
on the guidelines, but  HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson has indicated that
the Bush administration could side with abortion opponents who say
federal money shouldn't pay for research that destroys embryos.  And even
if the Bush administration decides that the current rules are acceptable,
the policy could still have to pass a federal court challenge before
researchers would be able to see any government money.
Neither the guidelines nor the lawsuit would affect privately funded
research that already has shown what scientists and physicians view as
promising results. The research has been touted as the best chance to
find treatments for diabetes, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease,
spinal cord injuries and other conditions."

"...In an effort to stop federal money from being used to pay for
embryonic stem-cell research, Nightlight Christian Adoptions, the
Christian Medical Assn. and several individuals earlier this year filed a
lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against
Thompson, HHS and NIH. The lawsuit says the NIH funding guidelines
violate the congressional ban against federal funding of research in
which human embryos are destroyed, discarded or knowingly subjected to
risk of injury or death."

..."To keep all options open, a group of researchers and patients have
filed their own suit against Thompson, HHS and NIH in federal court.
Saying the current policy is legal, the suit seeks injunctive relief to
go forward with the NIH guidelines and funding for embryonic stem-cell
research.
Although researchers say they are sensitive to the concerns of such
groups as Nightlight and the CMA, they say going forward with the
research is the right thing for society.
They point out that the embryos aren't being created specifically for
research and are not from aborted materials. Instead, the research would
take place with embryos that are already frozen and unwanted.
There are an estimated 100,000 or more embryos in storage that are likely
to be destroyed. They are left over from couples who went though in vitro
fertilization and didn't need all of the resulting embryos. The embryos
now sit frozen in storage tanks in fertility clinics around the globe.

"What you are talking about are embryos that will never become life,"
said Washington, D.C., lawyer Jeff Martin, one of the attorneys
representing the researchers and patients pro bono. "To me, dealing with
the reality that exists, research is morally the right thing to do..."
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I've read many news reports about the first lawsuit - but this was the
first I've seen about the second one. Any more information about it?

Linda Herman

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