Wis. governor says stem cell ruling could hurt

By RYAN J. FOLEY

MADISON, Wis.

Wisconsin will "move forward on every legal front we can" to overturn a court ruling that has blocked federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, Gov. Jim Doyle said Tuesday.

Doyle said the injunction entered by a federal judge in Washington last month could cripple Wisconsin's growing bioscience industry and stop the search for cures for disease.

"Wisconsin is particularly affected by this ruling because we are such a center of stem cell research," Doyle said at a news conference at UW-Madison, where he was surrounded by scientists. "The harm that's been done to us really exceeds probably any other state in this country."

Doyle spoke at the Waisman Center, where UW-Madison scientists using stem cells to study ways to treat eye disorders and Down syndrome expect to immediately lose grants totaling $400,000. UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin said two dozen university researchers have been affected by U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth's decision, and jobs and millions of dollars are at stake.

Wisconsin has been a leader in the field since 1998 when UW-Madison scientist James Thomson -- who stood quietly behind Doyle on Tuesday -- became the first to isolate human embryonic stem cells. The cells can turn into any tissue in the body, and researchers say they could lead to cures for spinal cord injuries, Parkinson's disease and other ailments.

Lamberth signed the restraining order blocking federal funding for the work after finding a pending lawsuit was likely to succeed. The lawsuit claims the research violates the intent of a 1996 law prohibiting use of taxpayer dollars in work that destroys a human embryo.

On Tuesday, Lamberth rejected a request by the U.S. Department of Justice to reconsider his decision and allow the work to continue during an appeal. He said federal officials were overstating the impact of his decision and putting it on hold would "flout the will of Congress."

The law in question, called the Dickey-Wicker amendment, was written several years before Thomson's discovery and should not apply to embryonic stem cells, Doyle said. He called on Congress to rewrite the law.

In the legal case, Doyle said Wisconsin would provide evidence on appeal to show Lamberth is mistaken. Wisconsin also will file a friend-of-the-court brief describing the potentially devastating impact of the judge's decision, he said.

"We will tell the story about what this injunction means, what the practical effects it is having on the scientific work that is being done," Doyle said. "This is not just some piece of paper that a judge signed and held the status quo. The judge's decision in fact greatly altered the status quo and has significantly changed the landscape."

Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen's office received a request from Doyle's office to sign onto a friend of the court brief and is waiting to see the language before committing to it, a spokesman said.

UW-Madison stem cell researcher Timothy Kamp said researchers are losing grants, being forced to keep their federally funded and privately funded research separate, and losing the ability to study important cells.

He said Wisconsin risks losing its status as a leader in the field if the ruling stands because young researchers will consider going to countries where the work is funded.

"When we think about this injunction, we have to realize it penalizes many people," he said. "It penalizes researchers ... it penalizes the taxpayers who are losing substantial investment in this research. And most importantly it penalizes the many patients who are waiting for these revolutionary treatments to come on line."

Martin said jobs filled by postdoctoral researchers and graduate students were at stake at the university, which spent $7 million in federal funding on embryonic stem cell research this year.

"Wisconsin is disproportionately affected by this injunction and by the stop on the flow of funds to our research," she said.