Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- A U.S. judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by an embryo-adoption agency and the Christian Medical Association that sought to block new National Institutes of Health guidelines for stem-cell research.

The groups, who sued on their own behalf as well as on behalf of all embryos, lacked standing to bring the case, U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth ruled today in Washington.

“Embryos lack standing because they are not persons under the law” and the unborn have no right to life protected under the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, Lamberth said, citing U.S. Supreme Court rulings.

The groups had sued to prevent implementation of new NIH guidelines that would allow broader funding for research on embryonic stem cells. Former President George W. Bush limited funding to cell lines derived from embryos before August 2001. President Barack Obama altered that order on March 9 and directed NIH to draft the new rules.

Federal law prohibits the use of U.S. government funds for research that creates embryos for research or destroys them. That law, the Dickey-Wicker Amendment, has been interpreted to allow federal support for research on embryonic cell lines created with private funds.

The case is Sherely v. Sebelius, 09-cv-1575, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia (Washington).

To contact the reporter on this story: Cary O’Reilly in Washington at caryoreilly@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 27, 2009 17:55 EDT