Supreme Court Rejects Stem Cell Case

The highest court in the country has declined to hear an appeal regarding the federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research, allowing such spending to continue.

Written byJef Akst

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WIKIMEDIA, NISSIM BENVENISTYMore than 3 years after the legality of federal funding for human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research was challenged in the courtroom, the US Supreme Court yesterday (January 7) decided not to hear the case. The high Court’s decision means that a lower court’s dismissal of the case will stand, and that federal hESC funding can continue.

The case started in 2009, after President Barack Obama issued a federal order to allow new hESC lines to be funded by federal grants. Two adult stem cell researchers objected to the new order and brought a case arguing that the new National Institutes of Health (NIH) guidelines stemming from this order violated the Dickey-Wicker Amendment, which prohibits federal funding for any research involving the destruction of human embryos. The case went through several courts before the plaintiffs filed a 36-page petition, known as a writ of certiorari, with the US Supreme Court.

(Hat tip to The Chronicle of Higher Education)

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Meet the Author

Jef Akst
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Jef (an unusual nickname for Jennifer) got her master’s degree from Indiana University in April 2009 studying the mating behavior of seahorses. After four years of diving off the Gulf Coast of Tampa and performing behavioral experiments at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, she left research to pursue a career in science writing. As The Scientist's managing editor, Jef edited features and oversaw the production of the TS Digest and quarterly print magazine. In 2022, her feature on uterus transplantation earned first place in the trade category of the Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism. She is a member of the National Association of Science Writers.
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