Washington ( CNN ) -- A U.S. district judge granted a preliminary injunction Monday to stop federal funding of embryonic stem cell research that he said destroys embryos , ruling it went against the will of Congress . The ruling by Judge Royce C. Lamberth was a blow to the Obama administration , which last year issued guidelines to allow federal funding for embryonic stem cell research . Lamberth 's ruling said all embryonic stem cell research involves destroying embryos , which violates the Dickey-Wicker Amendment included in federal spending bills . `` The Dickey-Wicker Amendment unambiguously prohibits the use of federal funds for all research in which a human embryo is destroyed , '' said the ruling by Lamberth , who was nominated to the federal bench by then-President Ronald Reagan in 1987 . `` It is not limited to prohibit federal funding of only the 'piece of research ' in which an embryo is destroyed . Thus , if ESC [ embryonic stem cell ] research is research in which an embryo is destroyed , the guidelines , by funding ESC research , violate the Dickey-Wicker Amendment . '' President Barack Obama signed an executive order in March 2009 that repealed a Bush-era policy limiting federal dollars for human stem cell research . Obama 's act permitted the National Institutes of Health to conduct and fund studies on embryonic stem cells . Monday 's ruling involved a lawsuit against the National Health Institute filed by researchers opposed to use of embryonic stem cells , a group that seeks adoptive parents for human embryos created through in vitro fertilization , the non-profit Christian Medical Association and others . The ruling stops the federal funding of embryonic stem cell research while the lawsuit proceeds through the legal system . The government can appeal the injunction , and a Justice Department spokeswoman , Tracy Schmaler , said the decision was being reviewed . The field of embryonic stem cells has been highly controversial because the research process involves destroying the embryo , typically four or five days old , after removing stem cells . These cells are then blank and can become any cell in the body . Embryonic stem cell research differs from other kinds of stem cell research , which do n't require embryos . Some scientists believe embryonic stem cells could help treat many diseases and disabilities , because of their potential to develop into many different cell types in the body . While some advocates praised the executive order as a giant step forward for medical research , conservatives groups objected , contending that the destruction of human embryos ends human life . Ron Stoddart , executive director of Nightlight Christian Adoptions -- one of the groups that filed the lawsuit -- said he supported adult stem cell research that does n't require destroying embryos . `` Frequently people will say why are you opposed to stem cell research and of course are answer is , we 're not , '' Stoddart said . `` We 're opposed to the destruction of the embryos to get embryo stem cells . '' In a statement Monday , the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research said it was disappointed by the injunction granted `` in response to the latest maneuver by an ideologically driven fringe group . '' `` We have full confidence that the extensive , deliberative process that shaped federal guidelines now in place will be upheld upon further review , '' the group 's statement said . CNN 's Shelby Lin Erdman contributed to this story .
NEW : No word on possible government funding as the lawsuit continues . A judge says the guidelines go against the will of Congress . Embryonic stem cell research is destroying cells , the judge says . Congress prohibits federal funding for research that destroys cells .