Obama's Bad Day

August 26, 2010

Judge Royce Lamberth caused a stir by making Monday a particularly bad day for the Obama Administration. For ruling against the president’s attempt to spend federal tax dollars on embryonic stem cell research, the US District Court judge is officially on the liberals’ hit list. They’re calling him a “crazy judge” with “sloppy reasoning,” but you can decide for yourself.

Here’s the background. Shortly after taking office, President Obama issued an executive order funneling millions of tax dollars to embryonic stem cell research. He did so in blatant defiance of the Dickey-Wicker Amendment, which specifically states that no federal funds may be used in research that harms or kills human embryos. Since 1996, Congress has reapproved the amendment yearly, so it’s hard to ignore.

Judge Lamberth rightly noted the conflict and, because federal law trumps executive orders, the court temporarily halted the controversial funding. Meanwhile, the lawsuit that prompted this discussion will proceed through the court system.

The judicial decision sheds light on two important matters. First, it reinforces that President Obama’s famous executive order to exempt abortion from health care reform is also meaningless. As we’ve known all along, executive orders cannot override federal law. This case proves it.

Second, we’re seeing the true colors of embryonic stem cell researchers. Even though their work proves time and again to be a colossal failure, they’re indignant that we taxpayers would dare to keep our own money out of their labs. They are driven by greed, not science. While embryonic research offers no clinical successes, other scientists focusing on adult stem cells (cells used from your own skin and body instead of killing a tiny human life) are finding dozens of new treatments. So why does the Obama Administration insist on spending limited funds on fruitless research that ultimately devalues and kills lives?

The Obama Administration is already planning to appeal Judge Lamberth’s decision, but please spread the word: this deadly dead-end research must be stopped. As David Stevens, executive director of the Christian Medical Association and one of the plaintiffs in the case, says, “People forget that each one of us was an embryo, and if someone [killed] us for biological parts, we wouldn't be around today.” Scientists, of all people, should be quick to acknowledge that premise. Until they do, generations remain in danger of losing their lives.

For the Tiny and Defenseless,
Bradley Mattes
Executive Director
Life Issues Institute