Sanctity of Life

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.'"

LifeNews: "The lawsuit, filed in August 2009, alleges that the guidelines governing destructive embryonic stem cell research implemented by the Obama administration in July “are contrary to law, were promulgated without observing the procedures required by law . . . Thomas G. Hungar, one of the lawyers for the plaintiffs, which includes the Alliance Defense Fund and the Christian Medical Association, said in 2009 when the lawsuit was filed, 'the language of the [Dickey-Wicker] statute is clear' that it 'bans public funding for any research that leads to the destruction of human embryos.'"

Wall Street Journal: "[Steven Aden], senior counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund and a lawyer for the challengers, said the ruling 'is in line with Congress's intention that taxpayer funds should not be used to destroy human life.'"

NPR: "A federal judge has for the time being sided with opponents of embryonic stem cell research, temporarily blocking Obama Administration rules that would have expanded the lines of such cells that could be studied by medical researchers."

CatholicCulture.org: "Bishop Armando Ochoa of El Paso has rebuked a diocesan priest who wrote that 'every single Catholic, out of fidelity to charity and truth, has the absolute duty to oppose (1) the murder of unborn babies, and (2) any and all government attempts to legalize homosexual unions.'"

LifeNews: The study found: 70% of parents agreed with the statement: “It is against your values for your adolescents to have sexual intercourse before marriage." Another 70 percent of parents agreed with the statement: “Having sexual intercourse is something only married people should do.”? (includes study link)

"Recognizing that the current Congress could change the provision relied on by the court to strike down the Obama policy, Nikas encouraged states legislatures to consider enacting complete prohibitions on embryonic stem cell research and human cloning similar to the BDF-drafted bill recently enacted in Arizona."

Family Research Council: "Family Research Council President Tony Perkins applauded today's preliminary injunction that for now stops taxpayer funded embryonic stem cell research. Judge Royce Lamberth noted that the imposition of an injunction required that those challenging the government's funding demonstrate a substantial likelihood of success on the merits for their arguments. Apparently, they succeeded." For more information see this post: U.S. district court rules against federal stem cell funding policy

"A federal court Monday issued an order that prevents the Obama administration from carrying out its embryonic stem cell research policy while a lawsuit against it proceeds in court. The court concluded that the policy, which allows such research, is likely to be in violation of a federal law known as the “Dickey/Wicker Amendment” that prohibits federal funds from being used on research that involves the destruction of human embryos."

Washington Post / Virginia Politics: "Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II, who is anti-abortion, has issued a legal opinion allowing greater restrictions on abortion clinics, drawing swift criticism from providers who say it could cause some of the facilities to close." The opinion is here: PDF / Google Viewer (Va. AG Opinion #10-067)