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AJC.com > Legislature > Blog > Archives > 2009 > March > 06
Friday, March 6, 2009
Bill inspired by octuplet births may morph into stem cell research restrictions
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A bill developed in response to the octuplets recently born in California might not be on a slow-track after all.
State Sen. Preston Smith (R-Rome) says he has made some changes to Senate Bill 169 that he plans to present to a special Senate subcommittee Monday morning.
The legislation appears to be shifting from a discussion of the practices of fertility clinics towards a debate over embryonic stem cell research.
If those changes pass, the Senate Health and Humans Services Committee could reconsider the amended legislation at 10:30 a.m. in the Capitol.
Smith said he has removed from the bill everything to do with fertility clinics and how many embryos can be transferred into a woman, but he has left language that deals with cloning and embryos used for scientific research.
The bill as amended would prohibit cloning and chimera experimentation — crossing human genetic material with that of animals — which Smith called “creepy.” It would prohibit creating a human embryo for the purposes of scientific experimentation in Georgia, but would allow such research to continue using embryos created outside the state.
The bill also addresses the idea of personhood, Smith said.
“It does advance the position that an embryo has more rights than a piece of property,” he said.
Embryonic stem cell research uses newly-created human embryos discarded from fertility clinics. Because the discarded embryos are destroyed in the process, many Christian conservatives —- though not all —- equate the practice with abortion.
President Barack Obama plans to hold a public event Monday where he will announce his plan to lift restrictions on taxpayer-funded research using embryonic stem cells. Embryonic stem cells can grow and become any cell in the body, and scientists hope to use them to cure diseases such as diabetes, Parkinson’s disease or to treat spinal chord injuries.
Republicans in Georgia have predicted that changes in federal rules regarding stem cell research will prompt a state debate over the issue.
That debate could start Monday morning as the special study committee of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee meets at 9:30 a.m. to discuss the changes to the bill.
If the four senators on the subcommittee agree on the new language, they could pass it back to the larger committee, which could in turn vote in favor of it.
Monday is one of the last days for bills to pass out of committee in order to be considered for a vote in either chamber during this legislative session.
The state of Georgia is trying to use an international biotech convention that is coming to Atlanta in May to showcase the state as a good place to do business in biotechnology.
Opponents of restrictions on embryonic stem cell research say legislation prohibiting stem cell research could have a chilling effect on efforts to lure firms to establish operations in Georgia.
Staff Writer Jim Galloway and the Associated Press contributed to this story.
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