Senate Quickly Adopts Stem Cell Compromise
By Amy Lambiaso for the State House News Service

       One day after negotiators released the details of compromise legislation to sanction embryonic stem cell research, senators on Tuesday lent their support to a bill some say establishes the most comprehensive regulatory structure for such research in the nation.
       By a veto-proof margin of 34-2, the Senate approved legislation that would make Massachusetts the third state in the nation to write language into its laws that specifically welcomes embryonic stem cell research.
While several scientists are already conducting such research here,
lawmakers say the current language is vague and requires prior approval
from the district attorney. The new law, legislators said, would make it
clear that Massachusetts wants to attract world-class scientists to conduct such research here.
       The bill now moves to the House, where leaders expect to debate the measure next week “at the earliest,” according to lead House conference conferee member Rep. Daniel Bosley (D-North Adams).
       The House approved its version by the veto-proof margin of 117-37 in late March. Under the rules, the Legislature cannot amend a conference committee report, and may vote only to adopt it or reject it.
       According to the six conference committee members, who held a press conference today in the Senate Reading Room, the compromise would set up an oversight structure within the Department of Public Health, and establish a number of checks and balances at the department and two other appointed boards.
       “We’re not creating this science here in Massachusetts,” said lead Senate conferee Jack Hart (D-South Boston). “We’re providing more oversight.”
       Rep. Bradford Hill (R-Ipswich) was the only conference committee member not to sign the committee report. At today’s press conference, Hill said that while he supports stem cell research, he felt the state should take a more cautious approach to allowing the science known as somatic cell nuclear transfer, or so-called therapeutic cloning – the creation and eventual destruction of embryos for research purposes.
       “We do want to see research move forward,” Hill said. “But we’re going into uncharted territory with this cloning.”
During today’s discussion of the bill on the floor, Sen. Brian Lees (R-East
Longmeadow) offered a similar argument against somatic cell nuclear
transfer, a process Gov. Mitt Romney also opposes.
Romney’s communications director Eric Fehrnstrom reiterated the governor’s opposition today and said that while the governor supports stem cell research, he “will not sign into law a bill that permits the cloning of human embryos for experimentation and destruction.”
       Lawmakers said the major difference between the House and Senate versions of the bill was how much regulatory oversight should be provided to the Department of Public Health, with some lawmakers fearful that Romney could use his control of the department to limit the research available and make the licensing process more difficult.
       Sen. Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester), a conference committee member, said the bill provided the “appropriate regulatory oversight,” with safeguards that keep researchers from being “over-regulated.”
       The bill says DPH may not enact regulations that “inhibit, obstruct, or
otherwise delay research or clinical applications” allowed under the bill.
       In addition, the compromise bill approved by the Senate would:
Establish a 15-member biomedical advisory council with members appointed by the governor, Speaker of the House and the Senate President to hold annual public meetings and make legislative recommendations; Require hospitals or other research institutions to establish an Institutional Review Board that will oversee stem cell research and give prior approval to every embryonic project; Require the Department of Public Health to adopt regulations to implement the law.
Ban human reproductive cloning and prohibit the sale of embrys for profit;
Require researchers to register with the DPH before conducting embryonic
stem cell research and file annual reports with the department; Require DPH to establish a public umbilical cord blood bank for placental tissue, and make those tissue available for research; Require fertility clinics to provide information about the disposal, donation and storage of unused embryos; Require that embryos can only be used for research purposes with the documented prior approval of the donor; Establish fines of up to $1 million or 10 years in prison for violating the law.