Resurrection of a Stem-Cell Funding Barrier — Dickey–Wicker in Court | Health Policy and Reform

Perspective
Resurrection of a Stem-Cell Funding Barrier — Dickey–Wicker in Court
NEJM | September 15, 2010 | Topics: Health Law

George J. Annas, J.D., M.P.H.

Embryo research was born political. Expressions of shock and surprise at the August 23 ruling of federal district court judge Royce Lamberth enjoining federal funding of stem-cell research — which was based largely on his reading of an amendment to an appropriations bill — are thus not terribly persuasive.1 The amendment, known as the Dickey–Wicker amendment, provides that no federal funds can be expended by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for “(1) the creation of a human embryo or embryos for research purposes; or (2) research in which a human embryo or embryos are destroyed, discarded, or knowingly subjected to risks of injury or death.” The case is now, for the second time, before the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which has temporarily lifted Lamberth’s injunction and is deciding whether to reinstate it while the courts determine the amendment’s legal meaning.

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Resurrection of a Stem-Cell Funding Barrier — Dickey–Wicker in Court | Health Policy and Reform