Texas Under the Microscope Again

The lone star state has been in the scientific spotlight for its school board decisions on the teaching of evolution in public classrooms, but it’s also a focus of the next round of arguments over human embryonic stem cell research.

On Tuesday, the Houston Chronicle reported that the state Senate Finance Committee passed a budget bill containing an amendment that would prohibit state funds from supporting research that involved the destruction of human embryos.

Yesterday, the full state Senate approved the $182.2 billion, two-year budget, including the amendment, which its author explained:

Before the Senate’s 26-5 vote approval, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Steve Ogden clarified that his proposal only would prohibit money appropriated by the state budget from being used directly for research that involves the destruction of a human embryo. It would not ban such research.

This appears to create a policy that would effectively apply rules like the federal Dickey-Wicker amendment to state funding (from the budget bill [18 MB pdf]):

Sec. 17.13. No Destruction of Human Embryos for Research Purposes. No funds appropriated under this Act shall be used in conjunction with or to support research which involves the destruction of a human embryo.

Debates over stem cell funding may again shift focus from the national to state level, according to the Progressive States Network. Georgia recently banned therapeutic cloning and limited the creation of embryos to only reproductive purposes; Mississippi blocked state funds from any research involving destruction of human embryos.

Oklahoma, in a more extreme move, is considering a bill that would outright criminalize working with human embryonic stem cells.

Done responsibly and ethically, stem cell research is an important component of innovation in the life sciences. In the midst of a downturn, states would do well to consider the economic impact of turning biotech companies away by limiting work in regenerative medicine. A report last year found that Michigan state law, which effectively restricted stem cell research, curtailed tens of millions of dollars in economic activity and nearly 800 jobs in the biotech industry. Voters amended the constituion in November to remove the restriction.

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