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2004 SESSION

043413396
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 20
Offered January 14, 2004
Prefiled December 22, 2003
Establishing a joint subcommittee to study medical, ethical, and scientific issues relating to stem cell research conducted in the Commonwealth. Report.
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Patrons-- Marshall, R.G. and Black
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Referred to Committee on Rules
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WHEREAS, although the use of human beings as articles of commerce or as economic goods existed in this Commonwealth and the United States from 1619 to 1865, the concept of human beings as property has been rejected by Americans in their constitution and in their deeply held belief in the value of human life; and

WHEREAS, the United States Patent and Trade Office rejected human commercialization in a ruling on April 7, 1987, which stated "A claim directed to or including within its scope a human being will not be considered to be patentable subject matter" under the federal patent law; and

WHEREAS, on August 25, 2000, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) published guidelines relating to stem cell research and the funding thereof that called for the denial of funding for research involving stem cells derived from embryonic human beings created for research purposes and noted that President William J. Clinton, the 44th President of the United States, many members of Congress, the NIH Human Embryo Research Panel, and the National Bioethics Advisory Committee all endorsed the "distinction between embryos created for research purposes and those created for reproductive purposes"; and

WHEREAS, the NIH guidelines also called for assurances that "there can be no incentives for donation" of human embryos and "any inducement for the donation of human embryos for research purposes" would be prohibited; and

WHEREAS, Senator William Frist, distinguished physician representing the State of Tennessee in the United States Senate and Senate Majority Leader, has proposed as a first principle of ethical research that "the creation of human embryos solely for research should be strictly prohibited"; and

WHEREAS, a Massachusetts research company has claimed that it had cloned the first human embryo, and the Jones Institute of Norfolk has published stem cell research conducted through the creation of approximately 110 embryos developed with the purchased sperm and eggs from men and women; and

WHEREAS, this conduct established a trade in new human life that treats such lives as merchandise for manipulation and destruction; and

WHEREAS, reportedly, the Jones Institute screened and evaluated the fitness of new human life according to the absence of "cosmetic handicaps, and other eugenic formulations"; and

WHEREAS, the General Assembly of Virginia has, by way of House Joint Resolution No. 607 (2001), condemned past practices within the Commonwealth involving institutional involvement in eugenics and eugenic ideology; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That a joint subcommittee be established to study the medical, ethical, and scientific issues relating to stem cell research conducted within the Commonwealth. The joint subcommittee shall consist of 10 members that includes eight legislative members and two nonlegislative citizen members. Members shall be appointed as follows: five members of the House of Delegates to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates in accordance with the principles of proportional representation contained in the Rules of the House of Delegates; three members of the Senate to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections; one nonlegislative citizen-at-large to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates; and one nonlegislative citizen-at-large to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections. Nonlegislative citizen members of the joint subcommittee shall be citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Unless otherwise approved in writing by the chairman of the joint subcommittee and the respective Clerk, nonlegislative citizen members shall only be reimbursed for travel originating and ending within the Commonwealth of Virginia for the purpose of attending meetings. If a companion joint resolution of the other chamber is agreed to, written authorization of both Clerks shall be required. The joint subcommittee shall elect a chairman and vice chairman from among its membership, who shall be members of the General Assembly.

In conducting its study, the joint subcommittee shall examine the medical, ethical, and scientific policy implications of prohibiting the creation of embryos in vitro for any purpose other than bringing them to birth, and the criminalizing of the transfer of compensation, in cash or in-kind, to induce any person to donate sperm or eggs for any purpose other than procreation. The joint subcommittee shall also examine the efficacy of research using adult stem cells rather than embryonic stem cells.

Administrative staff support shall be provided by the Office of the Clerk of the House of Delegates. Legal, research, policy analysis, and other services as requested by the joint subcommittee shall be provided by the Division of Legislative Services. Technical assistance shall be provided by the Virginia Board of Health and the State Board of Medicine. All agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to the joint subcommittee for this study, upon request.

The joint subcommittee shall be limited to four meetings for the 2004 interim, and the direct costs of this study shall not exceed $ 9,300 without approval as set out in this resolution. Of this amount an estimated $500 is allocated for materials and other resources. Approval for unbudgeted nonmember-related expenses shall require the written authorization of the chairman of the joint subcommittee and the respective Clerk. If a companion joint resolution of the other chamber is agreed to, written authorization of both Clerks shall be required.

Upon the election of a majority of the members of the House of Delegates appointed to the joint subcommittee or a majority of the Senate members appointed to the joint subcommittee, no recommendation of the joint subcommittee shall be adopted without the approval of a majority of such members of the House of Delegates and a majority of such members of the Senate. For the purpose of this provision, a "majority" constitutes the members present and voting at the meeting of the joint subcommittee.

The joint subcommittee shall complete its meetings by November 30, 2004, and the chairman shall submit to the Division of Legislative Automated Systems an executive summary of its findings and recommendations no later than the first day of the 2005 Regular Session of the General Assembly. The executive summary shall state whether the joint subcommittee intends to submit to the Governor and the General Assembly a report of its findings and recommendations for publication as a document. The executive summary and the report shall be submitted as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports and shall be posted on the General Assembly's website.

Implementation of this resolution is subject to subsequent approval and certification by the Joint Rules Committee. The Committee may approve or disapprove expenditures for this study, extend or delay the period for the conduct of the study, or authorize additional meetings during the 2004 interim.