HF 34

3rd Engrossment - 85th Legislature (2007 - 2008) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to health; establishing state policy for stem cell research; providing
criminal penalties; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapters
137; 145.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

[137.45] STEM CELL RESEARCH.

The University of Minnesota may spend state-appropriated funds on stem cell
research.

Sec. 2.

[145.427] STATE POLICY FOR STEM CELL RESEARCH.

Subdivision 1.

Research use permitted.

The policy of the state of Minnesota is
that research involving the derivation and use of human embryonic stem cells, human
embryonic germ cells, and human adult stem cells from any source, including somatic
cell nuclear transplantation, shall be permitted and that full consideration of the ethical
and medical implications of this research be given. 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 be reviewed by an approved
institutional review board.

Subd. 2.

Informed consent.

A physician, surgeon, 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 the patient to make an informed and voluntary
choice regarding the disposition of any human embryos remaining following the fertility
treatment. Any patient to whom information is provided under this subdivision shall
be presented with the options of storing any unused embryos, donating the embryos
to another individual, discarding the embryos, or donating the remaining embryos for
research. Any patient who elects to donate embryos remaining after fertility treatments
for research shall provide written consent to that donation.

Subd. 3.

Prohibiting sale of fetal tissue; cloning of human being.

(a) A person
may not knowingly, for valuable consideration, purchase, sell, or otherwise transfer or
obtain, or promote the sale or transfer of, embryonic or cadaveric fetal tissue for research
purposes. However, embryonic or cadaveric fetal tissue may be donated for research
purposes under this section. For purposes of this subdivision, "valuable consideration"
means financial gain or advantage, but does not include reasonable payment for the
removal, processing, disposal, preservation, quality control, storage, transplantation, or
implantation of embryonic or cadaveric fetal tissue.

(b) Violation of paragraph (a) is a gross misdemeanor.

(c) A person who knowingly engages or assists, directly or indirectly, in the cloning
of a human being is guilty of a felony.

As used in this section, "cloning of a human being" means the replication of a
human individual by cultivating a cell with genetic material, other than the product of the
fertilization of the egg of a human female by the sperm of a human male, through the egg,
embryo, fetal, and newborn stages into a new human individual.