From The Chronicle of Higher Education, May 18, 2001
(http://chronicle.com)

 Has anyone come across any other news reports about this law suit?
Linda

  Scientists Sue to Force Government to Finance Stem-Cell
  Research

  By RON SOUTHWICK

   A group of university scientists and patient advocates filed
  a lawsuit last week to try to force the federal government to
  finance studies of embryonic stem cells. The suit, filed in
  federal court here, asserts that the stem-cell-research
  regulations developed last year by the Clinton administration
  are legal and should be put in place.

  The seven scientists who filed the suit include John Gearhart,
  a professor of gynecology and obstetrics at the Johns Hopkins
  University, and James A. Thomson, an assistant professor of
  anatomy at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Both
  researchers are credited with isolating human embryonic stem
  cells, which scientists believe hold the keys to treating a
  wide variety of illnesses. The actor Christopher Reeve, who
  has testified before Congress about the need to finance
  stem-cell studies, is also a plaintiff in the suit.

  The Bush administration is reviewing the stem-cell regulations
  to determine whether they violate a federal law barring the
  use of federal funds in research that leads to the destruction
  of embryos. Tommy G. Thompson, secretary of the U.S.
  Department of Health and Human Services, has said the review
  should be completed by June. The suit names the department,
  Mr. Thompson, and Ruth L. Kirschstein, acting director of the
  National Institutes of Health, as defendants.

  Embryonic stem cells are undeveloped cells that have the
  ability to grow into any type of human cell. Researchers say
  the cells could be used to replace damaged tissue and,
  eventually, to treat patients with heart disease, diabetes,
  and Alzheimer's disease.

  However, religious groups and some Republicans in Congress
  believe such research is immoral because the embryo is
  destroyed when the stem cell is removed.

  The researchers filed their suit in response to litigation in
  March by Nightlight Christian Adoptions, a California agency
  that wants to bar the government from financing stem-cell
  research.

  The scientists responded with their own lawsuit to coax the
  government into reviewing grant applications, said Jeffrey C.
  Martin, an attorney who is representing the researchers.
  "There are legal problems with the indefinite review and delay
  of these guidelines," said Mr. Martin, who is doing pro bono
  work on the case. He was general counsel for the U.S.
  Department of Education under former president George Bush.

  An N.I.H. panel had been scheduled to review applications for
  embryonic stem-cell research last month, but the meeting was
  cancelled. No applications will be evaluated until the Bush
  administration finishes its legal review of the guidelines.

  Initially, the scientists merely sought to intervene as
  defendants in the suit filed by Nightlight Christian
  Adoptions. The researchers filed a motion to enter that case
  on May 4. The scientists decided to sue a few days later after
  the Justice Department agreed to a temporary stay on reviewing
  applications for stem-cell research in response to the
  adoption agency's lawsuit.

  Even if the administration opts to finance the research, the
  Justice Department agreement would bar the government from
  approving any proposals for at least 30 days after the review
  of the guidelines is finished. The researchers are trying to
  ensure that the guidelines will not be tangled in endless
  legal delays, Mr. Martin said.

  The scientists note that the guidelines don't violate federal
  law barring the use of public funds for studies that involve
  the destruction of embryos. The stem-cell regulations do not
  allow federally financed scientists to take the cells from the
  embryos; instead, the cells must be obtained from private
  laboratories. In addition, the federal guidelines state that
  the cells must be taken from excess embryos at reproductive
  clinics. Such embryos are usually discarded.

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