Last week a District Court judge issued a temporary injunction halting federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, throwing the Obama administration, the research community at large and millions of Americans living with disease, for whom stem cell research holds out hope, into turmoil, as they try to figure out what comes next.

Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton told reporters, “The President said very plainly when he laid out his stem cell policy, that this is important, life saving — potentially life saving research that could have an impact on millions of Americans and people around the world. He thinks we need to do research.”

He said the administration was exploring all possible avenues to make sure that the “critical, lifesaving research” would continue.

In a case brought by two researchers who disagree with the use of embryonic stem cells, Judge Royce C. Lamberth of Federal District Court for the District of Columbia, found that an executive order issued by President Obama shortly after taking office, which lifted restrictions on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, was illegal, violating a law passed by Congress in 1996 which prohibits the use of federal funding for research in which embryos are destroyed.

The judge said the distinction used by the president in issuing the executive order, between creating stem cell lines — often from discarded embryos obtained from fertility clinics, and using those stem cell lines in federally funded research, was not valid.

The judge said that the two cannot be separated and that “The language of the statute reflects the unambiguous intent of Congress.”

The National Institutes of Health spent $143 million dollars to fund 330 embryonic stem cell projects in 2009 according to the New York Times, and was expected to spend another $137 million in fiscal year 2010. The director of NIH, Dr. Francis S. Collins quoted in the Times said “The decision has the potential to do serious damage to one of the most promising areas of biomedical research,” and that the judge’s decision would most likely force the cancellation of dozens of experiments.

Dr. Rasul Chaudhry, a professor in the department of biological sciences at OU said, “This is a step back on recent progress made after President Obama allowed federal funding of embryonic stem cell research.”

Chaudhry, who uses adult and fetal stem cells as well as embryonic stem cells in his research, said that the effect of the judges ruling on his work would not be as severe. But he said embryonic stem cells, which are the most primitive cells among all types of stem cells, have the greatest potential for self-renewal. They can be differentiated into 200 types of cells found in the body where as adult stem cells and cord blood cells have more limited potential.

“Lack of availability of embryonic stem cells will limit research for finding cures for many debilitating diseases,” he said.

Chaudhry pointed out that many unused embryos are discarded or destroyed by the fertility clinics and said, “An argument can be made that isolating embryonic stem cells from these embryos in fact keep their cell alive and can contribute usefully to human health.”

The Obama Administration said that the Justice Department would appeal the injunction. There is also talk in Congress of reviving legislation, which would codify the president’s executive order and make it clear that the research is legal.

Congressman Gary Peters of Michigan said he was deeply concerned about the impact of the federal court’s decision to ban federal funds for embryonic stem cell research.

“This is research that has the potential to save lives and create jobs. This decision highlights the need for Congress to act in order to ensure certainty for scientists, researchers and companies who are committing to doing this research in America.”