WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court on Friday refused to order the Obama administration to stop funding embryonic stem cell research, despite complaints the work relies on destroyed human embryos.

The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld a lower court decision throwing out a lawsuit that challenged federal funding for the research, which is used in pursuit of cures to deadly diseases. Opponents claimed the National Institutes of Health was violating the 1996 Dickey-Wicker law that prohibits taxpayer financing for work that harms an embryo.

Recommended Stories

DOJ insists it just wants Alaska ballots preserved and isn’t seeking to change votes

Hundreds evacuate Ukrainian city of Oleshky as part of Melania Trump-brokered ceasefire

Judge opens inquiry into Trump administration’s handling of East Potomac golf course case