Stem Cell Ruling

Dear Parkinson’s Community,

As I am sure you have heard from media reports, on April 29, 2010, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling strongly in our favor in the human embryonic stem cell (hesc) case.  While the opinion is technically a ruling on whether the lower court had properly issued a preliminary injunction—it had not—the Circuit Court also addressed the underlying question of whether federal funds are prohibited for hesc.  The court wrote that Dickey Wicker does not “unambiguously” prohibit such funding and that the funding Guidelines issues by the National Institutes of Health are reasonable.  While the opinion is complicated in terms of prevailing legal standards, the bottom line is that yesterday was a victory.  In response to the opinion, Dr. Collins, the NIH Director, stated “I am delighted and relieved to learn of the decision of the Court of Appeals. This is a momentous day—not only for science, but for the hopes of thousands of patients and their families who are relying on NIH-funded scientists to pursue life-saving discoveries and therapies that could come from stem cell research.”

Unfortunately, we do not yet have complete closure.  The plaintiffs have the opportunity to appeal to this same court for rehearing (and then ultimately to the Supreme Court if they so chose) or to let the case simply return to the District Court where, presumably, Judge Lamberth would follow the guidance of yesterday’s opinion and rule in favor of the government.  But, the good news is that while the full court process plays out, federal funding is still going forward for this very important field of research.

Stay tuned and thanks for everything that you do for the Parkinson’s community.

Amy Comstock Rick