ScienceInsider

by Jocelyn Kaiser

A federal judge has rejected a lawsuit challenging the Obama Administration's policy lifting restrictions on using federal funds to study human embryonic stem cells. Christian groups had sued the National Institutes of Health in August, arguing on behalf of themselves and embryos that NIH's stem cell guidelines violate a ban on using federal funds to create or destroy human embryos. According to Bloomberg,  U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth ruled yesterday in Washington, D.C., that the groups had no standing because the U.S. Supreme Court has found that embryos are not persons under the law, and the unborn have no constitutional right to life. The AP's story says the judge also rejected the argument that the guidelines would reduce the number of embryos available for adoption.

(Photo credit: NIST)