Stem cell program wins key court ruling, poised to issue grants

California's embattled Proposition 71 stem cell program took a big step Tuesday toward overcoming lawsuits that have blocked its first grants from being issued.

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Bonnie Sabraw denied essentially every legal argument brought by the plaintiffs in litigation alleging that Prop. 71 violated the state Constitution because it would allow taxpayer-backed bond revenues to be distributed without direct legislative control.

The Prop. 71 program was created by state voters in November 2004 with authority to disperse $3 billion in grants during the next 10 years, mostly intended to advance controversial embryonic stem cell research. A state agency called the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine has been created and based in San Francisco.

Lawsuits challenging the institute's plans were filed by taxpayer groups and an anti-abortion bioethics organization, frustrating research advocates who say stem cells are key to creating a radical new kind of cell-based medicine that is potentially capable of curing such maladies as Parkinson's disease, diabetes and spinal cord injuries.

Now, the program's leadership hopes to move forward by January with a stopgap funding plan...