New bill introduced in House

On June 30, Representative Bartlett (MD) introduced H.B.3144 into the House of Representatives. The bill’s purpose is to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for a program at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct and support research in the derivation and use of human pluripotent stem cells by means that do not harm human embryos, and for other purposes. The bill would appropriate $15,000,000 in fiscal year 2006, and such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2007 through 2010

Some feel this bill offers the necessary compromise to avoid the destruction of embryos for the production of embryonic stem cells and there’s talk that sponsors of other “embryonic” stem cell bills will jump on the bandwagon expected to support this proposed legislation. The plan is to remove one or two cells from a developing embryo, leaving the embryo undamaged and capable of producing a human being.

I’ll post more soon about the feasibility of this idea.

Marie Godfrey, PhD  <!--break-->