Committee gives go-ahead to embryonic stem-cell research

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By Dan Gearino | Monday, February 12, 2007 11:40 PM CST | () comments

DES MOINES -- An Iowa Senate committee voted Monday to recommend approval of a bill that would legalize medical treatments from embryonic stem-cell research.

The 8-5 vote was split along party lines, with all "no" votes coming from Republicans who argue that the bill ends the state's ban on human cloning. Democrats said the bill opens the door to new treatments for diseases, while retaining the ban on cloning.

"It is a major step forward," said the lead sponsor, Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City.

The bill would allow a process in which embryonic stem cells are created in a laboratory for therapeutic purposes. To do this, lawmakers need to revise the ban on human cloning, which broadly prohibits the making of an exact copy of a human embryo.

Bolkcom said the process allowed by the bill could be called therapeutic cloning on the cellular level. He said this is distinctly different from reproductive cloning, which is the creation of a whole person. Reproductive cloning is, and would remain, a felony.

Sen. Jerry Behn, R-Boone, said Democrats are trying to obscure the bill's intent.

"What we're trying to do today is not stem-cell research. We're talking about lifting the ban on human cloning, pure and simple," he said.

Social conservatives view the bill as a challenge to the sanctity of life, along the same lines as abortion.

Sen. Bill Dotzler, D-Waterloo, said those outside political considerations are driving the Republicans, rather than an honest reading of the bill.

"Right now, we're dealing with politics and semantics, not the issues," he said.

Many Democrats, including Gov. Chet Culver, campaigned on a pledge to expand embryonic stem-cell research, which they said could lead to advances in Parkinson's disease, diabetes and other illnesses.

Senate Democrats say the bill could be debated on the Senate floor as soon as Thursday.

Dan Gearino can be contacted at (515) 243-0138 or dan.gearino@lee.net.