Potential state stem cell policy

A bill to potentially further stem cell research in the state was approved 71-62 by the House May 7.

Sponsored by Rep. Phyllis Kahn (DFL-Mpls) and Sen. Richard Cohen (DFL-St. Paul), HF34/SF100* returns to the Senate as amended.

According to the bill, “The policy of the state of Minnesota is that research involving the derivation and use of human embryonic stem cells, human embryonic germ cells, and human adult stem cells from any source, including somatic cell nuclear transplantation, shall be permitted and that full consideration of the ethical and medical implications of this research be given.” Research would be reviewed by an institutional review board. It also allows the University of Minnesota to spend state-appropriated funds on stem cell research.

Kahn said stem cell research could help people with debilitating ailments, such as Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s diseases. Supporters previously said that it’s not enough to work just on blood cells because they don’t work with all diseases.

“The cost of treatment and lost productivity constitute hundreds of billions of dollars every year,” Kahn said. “Estimates of the economic costs of these diseases and conditions do not account for the associated extreme human loss and suffering. Stem cell research offers immense promise for developing new medical therapies for these debilitating diseases and conditions, and a critical means to explore fundamental questions of biology.”

Kahn also said the biomedical industry is a “critical and growing component” of Minnesota’s economy, and that would be diminished with stem cell research limitations.

Health care providers treating patients for infertility would be required to provide information to patients about options for the disposition of human embryos after fertility treatment. The bill allows for donation of fetal tissue for research purposes with written consent. Cloning would be prohibited.

Rep. Matt Dean (R-Dellwood) offered an amendment that would have limited embryonic and adult stem cell research at the university up to the destruction of the embryo. It failed 65-69.

“People across the world have drawn this line, and they said this is the moral line that shouldn’t be crossed,” he said. Dean said a similar provison has passed the U.S. Senate.

“We don’t have to destroy a human embryo; we can conduct this research and enjoy the benefits of bioscience in Minnesota,” Rep. Steve Gottwalt (R-St. Cloud) said. “The jobs, the investment, the medical advances can all be ours with this amendment without destroying the embryo.”

The Senate passed the bill 38-26 on April 27, 2007.