The National Institute of Health director hails a decision by the Obama administration to appeal a ban on the federal funding embryonic stem cell research.
''This decision poured sand into that engine of discovery,'' NIH Director Francis Collins said on Wednesday.
He made the comments a day after Justice Department spokesman Tracy Schmaler said the DoJ will appeal the ruling that disrupted an entire field of science this week.
US District Judge Royce Lamberth temporarily blocked US President Barack Obama administration regulations expanding stem cell research on August 23, placing an obstacle in the way of embryonic stem cell research.
The newly declared ruling halts the US government to grant about 35 percent of the 200-million-dollar previously planned to be invested in this field.
Collins further stressed that dozens of experiments aimed at fighting spinal cord injuries, Parkinson's disease and many other disorders will be stopped due to this legislation.
"This ruling should be appealed and I fully believe that it will be overturned. Embryonic stem cell research offers hope to millions of Americans who are suffering from debilitating and life-threatening diseases, and it must be allowed to proceed," said democratic Senator Tom Harkin who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
However, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund Steven H. Aden welcomed Judge Lamberth's decision.
"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," he said.
Allowing federal funding on human embryonic stem cell research, which was long banned by predecessor George W. Bush, was one of the first moves made by Obama upon assuming power in 2009.
While supporters of human embryonic stem cell research believe the science is vital to save individuals suffering from various diseases, opponents claim it is wrong to destroy even days-old human embryos for any purpose.
