You are correct. It was a ban on using newly derived human embryonic stem cell lines. Federal money could/can be used for adult stem cell research, stem cells retrieved from umbilical cords, and existing lines of human embryonic stem cells. The issue with the human embryonic stem cell lines that were in existence at the time of the ban was that some of the lines weren't very robust, some had right-to-use issues, and the majority would never be useful for human therapy because of how they were derived and maintained (the medium used in tissue culture does not exclusively contain human "stuff", to put it into layman's terms). So, in a sense, Todd is right as well. There is an indirect ban on research that would result in a human therapy. These cell lines will never be allowed into human trials.