Appeals Court Lifts Temporary Ban on Federal Funds for Stem-Cell Research

A federal appeals court today temporarily lifted an injunction by a federal judge, Royce C. Lamberth, that blocked federal financing of research on embryonic stem cells. The appeals court ordered the two sides in the case to submit written briefs within the next two weeks setting out their arguments for whether Judge Lamberth’s injunction should be put back into effect for the expected period of several months while the judge hears arguments over the legality of the Obama administration’s policy of expanded federal support for embryonic-stem-cell research.