2 states pass bills helping embryonic stem cell research

Connecticut and Massachusetts are the latest to ease restrictions, but questions remain about the ability of states to oversee such studies.

By Joel B. Finkelstein, AMNews staff. June 20, 2005.

Washington -- Some states are trying to pick up where the federal government has left off in funding stem cell research, but these efforts have raised concerns among scientists about the need for strict oversight of the cutting-edge research.

Connecticut and Massachusetts are the most recent states to pass laws designed to warm up the climate for studying embryonic stem cells. There were a total of 135 bills introduced across the nation this year addressing a range of issues relating to stem cell research, according to data collected by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The Connecticut measure explicitly allows for research into therapeutic cloning, nuclear transfer technology and embryonic stem cells, while barring any form of human cloning. The bill also provides $100 million in state funding for both adult and embryonic stem cell research.

The measure further requires physicians and others to inform patients of options for embryos left over from fertility treatment, including storing them, donating to another person or to researchers, or disposing of the cells.

The bill is among the few but growing number of state measures penned partially in response to restrictions on funding for embryonic stem cell research. Federal dollars are available for research only on embryonic stem cell lines that were established before August 2001, when President Bush announced the policy.

"I am very proud of what we accomplished," said Myron "Mike" Genel, MD, a professor of pediatrics at Yale University School of Medicine and co-founder of Connecticut United for Research Excellence, a nonprofit corporation that promotes bioscience research in the state.