Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
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After reviewing a recent judicial injunction on embryonic stem cell research, officials at the University of Iowa believe that only about $100,000 of their current funding could be lost.
The temporary injunction, which was handed down earlier this week by U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth, calls into question the legality of an expansion of federal funding for such research by the Obama administration. According to the judge’s ruling, a law passed annually by Congress prohibits funding not only research that results in destruction of a human embryo, but for research that benefits directly from the destruction of a human embryo — even if that destruction was done under previous research paid for with other funding streams.
When asked by The Iowa Independent how and if the injunction would impact ongoing research at the Carver College of Medicine Stem Cell Group, University officials provided the following statement:
The temporary injunction issued by U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth concerns federal funding related to a very specific kind of stem cell research, that is, human embryonic stem cell research. Our early estimates suggest that only $110,000 in current University of Iowa research funding could eventually be affected by this ruling.
It is important to note that the UI has a robust portfolio of stem cell research in progress, which promises ground-breaking discoveries to advance human health and medical therapies. Almost all of this research is not impacted by Judge Lamberth’s ruling.
UI officials, along with academic leaders and researchers nationwide, will continue to review this federal decision to better understand its specific scholarly implications for institutional research moving forward.
Tracy Schmaller, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Justice, has indicated that the government will appeal the injunction. Legislative leaders, including U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., have also pledged to do what they can to address the injunction through Congressional action.
Harkin, who serves as chairman of the labor and health appropriations subcommittee, will hold hearings next month when the Senate returns to session. DeGette told Christina Bellantoni of TPM that legislation could be passed in the House as early as next month. Both Harkin and DeGette have been strong advocates for stem cell research funding.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton told reporters Tuesday that the administration believes the injunction not only rolls back policies set forth by the current administration, but also rolls back more restrictive policies in place during the George W. Bush administration as well.
“We’re still reviewing the decision from this judge, but what we’ve seen so far — from what we can tell — this would also stop the research that President Bush had allowed to go forward early in his presidency,” Burton said during the briefing.
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