1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to health; establishing state policy for stem 
  1.3             cell research; providing criminal penalties; proposing 
  1.4             coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapters 
  1.5             137; 145. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  [137.45] [STEM CELL RESEARCH.] 
  1.8      The University of Minnesota may spend state-appropriated 
  1.9   funds on stem cell research. 
  1.10     Sec. 2.  [145.426] [LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS.] 
  1.11     The legislature finds and declares all of the following: 
  1.12     (a) An estimated 128,000,000 Americans suffer from the 
  1.13  crippling economic and psychological burden of chronic, 
  1.14  degenerative, and acute diseases, including diabetes, 
  1.15  Parkinson's disease, cancer, and Alzheimer's disease. 
  1.16     (b) The costs of treatment and lost productivity of 
  1.17  chronic, degenerative, and acute diseases in the United States 
  1.18  constitute hundreds of billions of dollars every year.  
  1.19  Estimates of the economic costs of these diseases do not account 
  1.20  for the extreme human loss and suffering associated with these 
  1.21  conditions. 
  1.22     (c) Stem cell research offers immense promise for 
  1.23  developing new medical therapies for these debilitating diseases 
  1.24  and a critical means to explore fundamental questions of biology.
  1.25  Stem cell research could lead to unprecedented treatments and 
  2.1   potential cures for diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, cancer, and 
  2.2   other diseases. 
  2.3      (d) The United States and Minnesota have historically been 
  2.4   a haven for open scientific inquiry and technological innovation 
  2.5   and this environment, coupled with the commitment of public and 
  2.6   private resources, has made the United States the preeminent 
  2.7   world leader in biomedicine and biotechnology. 
  2.8      (e) The biomedical industry is a critical and growing 
  2.9   component of Minnesota's economy and would be significantly 
  2.10  diminished by limitations imposed on stem cell research. 
  2.11     (f) Open scientific inquiry and publicly funded research 
  2.12  will be essential to realizing the promise of stem cell research 
  2.13  and to maintain Minnesota's leadership in biomedicine and 
  2.14  biotechnology.  Publicly funded stem cell research, conducted 
  2.15  under established standards of open scientific exchange, peer 
  2.16  review, and public oversight, offers the most efficient and 
  2.17  responsible means of fulfilling the promise of stem cells to 
  2.18  provide regenerative medical therapies. 
  2.19     (g) Stem cell research, including the use of embryonic stem 
  2.20  cells for medical research, raises significant ethical and 
  2.21  policy concerns and, while not unique, the ethical and policy 
  2.22  concerns associated with stem cell research must be carefully 
  2.23  considered. 
  2.24     (h) Public policy on stem cell research must balance 
  2.25  ethical and medical considerations.  The policy must be based on 
  2.26  an understanding of the science associated with stem cell 
  2.27  research and grounded in a thorough consideration of the ethical 
  2.28  concerns regarding this research.  Public policy on stem cell 
  2.29  research must be carefully crafted to ensure that researchers 
  2.30  have the tools necessary to fulfill the promise of stem cell 
  2.31  research. 
  2.32     Sec. 3.  [145.427] [STATE POLICY FOR STEM CELL RESEARCH.] 
  2.33     Subdivision 1.  [RESEARCH USE PERMITTED.] The policy of the 
  2.34  state of Minnesota is that research involving the derivation and 
  2.35  use of human embryonic stem cells, human embryonic germ cells, 
  2.36  and human adult stem cells from any source, including somatic 
  3.1   cell nuclear transplantation, shall be permitted and that full 
  3.2   consideration of the ethical and medical implications of this 
  3.3   research be given.  Research involving the derivation and use of 
  3.4   human embryonic stem cells, human embryonic germ cells, and 
  3.5   human adult stem cells, including somatic cell nuclear 
  3.6   transplantation, shall be reviewed by an approved institutional 
  3.7   review board. 
  3.8      Subd. 2.  [INFORMED CONSENT.] A physician, surgeon, or 
  3.9   other health care provider who is treating a patient for 
  3.10  infertility shall provide the patient with timely, relevant, and 
  3.11  appropriate information sufficient to allow the patient to make 
  3.12  an informed and voluntary choice regarding the disposition of 
  3.13  any human embryos remaining following the fertility treatment.  
  3.14  Any patient to whom information is provided under this 
  3.15  subdivision shall be presented with the options of storing any 
  3.16  unused embryos, donating the embryos to another individual, 
  3.17  discarding the embryos, or donating the remaining embryos for 
  3.18  research.  Any patient who elects to donate embryos remaining 
  3.19  after fertility treatments for research shall provide written 
  3.20  consent to that donation. 
  3.21     Subd. 3.  [PROHIBITING SALE OF FETAL TISSUE.] (a) A person 
  3.22  may not knowingly, for valuable consideration, purchase, sell, 
  3.23  or otherwise transfer or obtain, or promote the sale or transfer 
  3.24  of, embryonic or cadaveric fetal tissue for research purposes.  
  3.25  However, embryonic or cadaveric fetal tissue may be donated for 
  3.26  research purposes under this section.  For purposes of this 
  3.27  subdivision, "valuable consideration" means financial gain or 
  3.28  advantage, but does not include reasonable payment for the 
  3.29  removal, processing, disposal, preservation, quality control, 
  3.30  storage, transplantation, or implantation of embryonic or 
  3.31  cadaveric fetal tissue. 
  3.32     (b) Violation of this subdivision is a gross misdemeanor. 
  3.33     Sec. 4.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  3.34     Sections 1 to 3 are effective August 1, 2004.