Sanctity of Life

New York Times: "The ruling came as a shock to scientists at the National Institutes of Health and at universities across the country, which had viewed the Obama administration’s new policy and the grants provided under it as settled law. Scientists scrambled Monday evening to assess the ruling’s immediate impact on their work . . . [Steven H. Aden], senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, which sued to stop the Obama administration rules, said the judge’s ruling 'means that for now the N.I.H. cannot issue funding grants to embryonic stem cell research projects without any further order from the court.'"

Liberty Counsel: "Liberty Counsel has agreed to represent Mary Susan Pine, a sidewalk abortion counselor, who is being sued by the politically motivated U.S. Attorney General, Eric Holder. Using the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) federal law and seeking the maximum fine of $10,000, Holder alleges that Pine 'obstructed' a car entering a Florida abortion clinic nearly a year ago, on November 19, 2009. The suit is entitled Holder v. Pine."

CatholicCulture.org: "In an August 22 editorial, the Boston Globe asked Massachusetts attorney general Martha Coakley to recommend new conditions on the sale of Caritas Christi, the health-care system of the Boston archdiocese . . . The Globe asked the attorney general to seek a commitment that Cerberus would not sell the system’s 6 hospitals for at least 7 years after the official purchase."

Standard Newswire: "CMA CEO David Stevens, MD, noted, "This case highlights the harm that diverting federal funds away from proven effective research poses to those patients who are waiting for cures . . . Dr. Stevens noted, 'We are grateful for the excellent legal work of Advocates International, and the Alliance Defense Fund in this case, and are proud to stand with fellow plaintiffs Drs. James L. Sherley and Theresa Deisher, Nightlight Christian Adoptions, Shayne and Tina Nelson, William and Patricia Flynn.'"

Associated Press: "The judge's ruling drew praise from the Alliance Defense Fund, a group of Christian attorneys and co-counsel in the suit. 'The American people should not be forced to pay for experiments — prohibited by federal law — that destroy human life. The court is simply enforcing an existing law passed by Congress that prevents Americans from paying another penny for needless research on human embryos,' [Steven H. Aden], ADF's senior legal counsel, said."

LifeNews: "The Alliance Defense Fund, a pro-life legal group that served as co-counsel in the case, also hailed the order that prevents the Obama administration from carrying out its embryonic stem cell research policy while the court considers the lawsuit. 'The American people should not be forced to pay for experiments--prohibited by federal law--that destroy human life,' said ADF Senior Legal Counsel [Steven Aden]."

Earned Media (Advocates International): "Advocates International (AI), part of the public interest legal team along with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher (GD&C) who brought the case before the court more than a year ago, is pleased with the decision of the United States District Court of the District of Columbia yesterday enjoining HHS and NIH from unlawfully expending taxpayer funds on research involving the destruction of living human embryos."

Ronald Bailey writing at Reason: "The case had been brought before the court by the conservative Christian Alliance Defense Fund and Nightlight Christian Adoptions which wants to put embryos left over from fertility treatments up for 'adoption.' Both argue that deriving human embryonic stem cells kills pre-born people. Given that about 60 percent of Americans support stem cell research using embryos left over from fertility treatments, this ruling will surely spark the stem cell wars anew."

The Christian Post: "'The American people should not be forced to pay for experiments – prohibited by federal law – that destroy human life,' said [Steven H. Aden], senior legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund. 'The court is simply enforcing an existing law passed by Congress that prevents Americans from paying another penny for needless research on human embryos.'"

Michael Tomasky writing at The Guardian: "This case was not only about the new NIH guidelines, but about the legal standing of the plaintiffs, who were representatives of conservative Christian advocacy groups and research agencies that opposed the Obama NIH proposals. The plaintiff Alliance Defense Fund has a history of anti-gay activism. The group's standing to sue was in question. In fact, on a previous occasion, Lamberth tossed the suit, arguing that the plaintiffs lacked standing."

Portfolio.com / Heavy Doses: "The judge found that a group of researchers working with adult stem cells, represented by the Alliance Defense Fund, had a good chance of winning their suit challenging the Obama administration’s policy. That suit was based on a 1996 Congressional ban on destroying embryos to create embryonic stem cell lines."

Vermont Public Radio (NPR): [Steven Aden] of the Alliance Defense Fund didn't buy that argument, and neither did Judge Lamberth. 'If one step of a project results in the destruction of an embryo, the entire project is precluded from receiving federal funding,' Aden said."

CBN News: "'The American people should not be forced to pay for experiments, prohibited by federal law that destroy human life,' the Alliance Defense Fund's senior legal counsel [Steven H. Aden], said." | Video at link

The Washington Post: "[Steven Aden], a lawyer with the Alliance Defense Fund who filed the suit, said the court will need to clarify whether the injunction affects work using money already issued to researchers under the administration's new guidelines or blocks additional funding."

The Boston Globe: "[Steven H. Aden] — senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, a nonprofit legal alliance of Christian attorneys and co-counsel in the suit — said yesterday that the alliance was encouraged by the 'common sense' ruling. 'We believe that the court’s interpretation is consistent with Congress’s intent in keeping taxpayer money out of research that destroys human life,' Aden said."

Worthy News: "'The American people should not be forced to pay for experiments -- prohibited by federal law -- that destroy human life. The court is simply enforcing an existing law passed by Congress that prevents Americans from paying another penny for needless research on human embryos,' said Alliance Defense Fund Senior Legal Counsel [Steven H. Aden] which co-counseled in the lawsuit."

"In a ruling involving a mentally disabled man whose legal guardians sought the power to end his medical care, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has determined that state law requires life-preserving treatment for people who are not near death and have not refused treatment."

Bloomberg: "For opponents of the field, federal funding for such research equates to taxpayer support for the destruction of human life, said [Steven H. Aden], an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund in Washington, a Christian organization that represented the two remaining plaintiffs in the case. 'The American people should not be forced to pay for experiments -- prohibited by federal law -- that destroy human life,' Aden said yesterday in a statement on the alliance’s website.

Catholic News Agency: "The Alliance Defense Fund, which helped represent CMA and Nightlight, saying that the 'American people should not be forced to pay for experiments – prohibited by federal law – that destroy human life.' 'The court is simply enforcing an existing law passed by Congress that prevents Americans from paying another penny for needless research on human embryos,' continued ADF Senior Legal Counsel [Steven H. Aden]. 'No one should be allowed to decide that an innocent life is worthless.'"

Monsters and Critics.com: "ADF senior legal counsel [Steven Aden] said, 'No one should be allowed to decide that an innocent life is worthless. Experimentation on embryonic stem cells isn't even necessary because adult stem cell research has been enormously successful.'"