Californian voters may have authorised the spending of $3 billion of public money on stem cell research over the next decade, but opponents of the plan are determined to make it as hard as possible to spend the money.
Last week saw the opening salvos in a legal battle that could tie up the funding for more than a year. And with other states trying to set up their own stem-cell initiatives, the ripples will be felt across the US. 鈥淓veryone sees this as a test case of symbolic importance,鈥� says Zach Hall, president of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), which was formed to run the research.
Activists who oppose research on human embryonic stem cells claim that CIRM is unconstitutional under California law. Last week, a judge ruled that the case could go to trial. If, as is expected, the battle goes all the way to the state supreme court, it could prevent the issuing of bonds to bankroll the programme until early 2007, even if CIRM ultimately wins.
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Hall is confident that CIRM will eventually win the case, and believes the legal action is a delaying tactic designed in part to send a message to other states. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e saying 鈥榠f we can bring California to its knees, we can certainly stop your project鈥�,鈥� he says.
CIRM officials are now trying to convince philanthropists to donate up to $50 million so that it can begin awarding grants, initially to train young scientists.
