Bill Text: NJ A170 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Prohibits use of public funds for embryonic stem cell research.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 5-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-12 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee [A170 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-A170-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
214th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2010 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman GARY R. CHIUSANO
District 24 (Sussex, Hunterdon and Morris)
Assemblyman JOHN DIMAIO
District 23 (Warren and Hunterdon)
SYNOPSIS
Prohibits use of public funds for embryonic stem cell research.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act concerning public funding of stem cell research and amending P.L.2003, c.203.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 1 of P.L.2003, c.203 (C.26:2Z-1) is amended to read as follows:
1. The Legislature finds and declares that:
a. An estimated 128 million Americans suffer from the crippling economic and psychological burden of chronic, degenerative and acute diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, cancer, diabetes and Parkinson's disease;
b. The costs of treating, and lost productivity from, chronic, degenerative and acute diseases in the United States constitutes hundreds of billions of dollars annually. Estimates of the economic costs of these diseases does not account for the extreme human loss and suffering associated with these conditions;
c. Human stem cell research offers [immense promise] the potential for developing new medical therapies for these debilitating diseases and a critical means to explore fundamental questions of biology[. Stem cell], with the hope that this research could lead to unprecedented treatments and potential cures for Alzheimer's disease, cancer, diabetes, Parkinson's disease and other diseases;
d. The United States has historically been a haven for open scientific inquiry and technological innovation; and this environment[, combined with the commitment of public and private resources,] has made this nation the preeminent world leader in biomedicine and biotechnology;
e. The biomedical industry is a critical and growing component of New Jersey's economy[, and would be significantly diminished by limitations imposed on stem cell research];
f. Open scientific inquiry [and publicly funded research will be] is essential to realizing the promise of stem cell research and maintaining this State's leadership in biomedicine and biotechnology[. Publicly]; and publicly funded adult stem cell research, conducted under established standards of open scientific exchange, peer review and public oversight, offers the most efficient and responsible means of fulfilling the promise of stem cells to provide regenerative medical therapies, while safeguarding the public policy of this State with regard to the funding of stem cell research from the ethical and public policy concerns that surround embryonic stem cell research;
g. [Stem cell research, including the] The use of embryonic stem cells for medical research[,] raises significant ethical and public policy concerns[; and, although not unique, the ethical and policy concerns associated with stem cell research must be carefully considered] that should guide State policy with regard to the use of public funds to support stem cell research; and
h. The public policy of this State governing stem cell research must: balance ethical and medical considerations, based upon both an understanding of the science associated with stem cell research and a thorough consideration of the ethical concerns regarding this research; and be carefully crafted to ensure that researchers have the tools necessary to fulfill the promise of this research while reflecting those ethical concerns.
(cf: L.2003, c.203, s.1)
2. Section 2 of P.L.2003, c.203 (C.26:2Z-2) is amended to read as follows:
2. a. It is the public policy of this State that research involving the derivation and use of human embryonic stem cells, human embryonic germ cells and human adult stem cells, including somatic cell nuclear transplantation, shall:
(1) be permitted in this State;
(2) be conducted with full consideration for the ethical and medical implications of this research; and
(3) be reviewed, in each case, by an institutional review board operating in accordance with applicable federal regulations.
b. (1) A physician or other health care provider who is treating a patient for infertility shall provide the patient with timely, relevant and appropriate information sufficient to allow that person to make an informed and voluntary choice regarding the disposition of any human embryos remaining following the infertility treatment.
(2) A person to whom information is provided pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be presented with the option of storing any unused embryos, donating them to another person, donating the remaining embryos for research purposes, or other means of disposition.
(3) A person who elects to donate, for research purposes, any embryos remaining after receiving infertility treatment shall provide written consent to that donation.
c. (1) A person shall not knowingly, for valuable consideration, purchase or sell, or otherwise transfer or obtain, or promote the sale or transfer of, embryonic or cadaveric fetal tissue for research purposes pursuant to this act; however, embryonic or cadaveric fetal tissue may be donated for research purposes in accordance with the provisions of subsection b. of this section or other applicable State or federal law.
For the purposes of this subsection, "valuable consideration" means financial gain or advantage, but shall not include reasonable payment for the removal, processing, disposal, preservation, quality control, storage, transplantation, or implantation of embryonic or cadaveric fetal tissue.
(2) A person or entity who violates the provisions of this subsection shall be guilty of a crime of the third degree and, notwithstanding the provisions of subsection b. of N.J.S.2C:43-3, shall be subject to a fine of up to $50,000 for each violation.
d. No public funds shall be expended by this State or any political subdivision thereof to cover, in whole or in part, the costs of, or otherwise directly or indirectly support or assist, research that involves the derivation and use of human embryonic stem cells or human embryonic germ cells, including somatic cell nuclear transplantation.
(cf: P.L.2003, c.203, s.2)
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill amends P.L.2003, c.203 (C.26:2Z-1 et al.) to prohibit the use of public funds by the State or any political subdivision thereof to support human embryonic stem cell or human embryonic germ cell research, including somatic cell nuclear transplantation.
