[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2574 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2574

To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for a program at the 
   National Institutes of Health to conduct and support research on 
  animals to develop techniques for the derivation of stem cells from 
     embryos that do not harm the embryos, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 24, 2005

 Mr. Bartlett of Maryland (for himself, Mr. Gingrey, Mr. Norwood, Mr. 
 Osborne, Mr. Culberson, Mr. English of Pennsylvania, Mr. Rohrabacher, 
 Mr. Price of Georgia, and Mr. Cannon) introduced the following bill; 
       which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for a program at the 
   National Institutes of Health to conduct and support research on 
  animals to develop techniques for the derivation of stem cells from 
     embryos that do not harm the embryos, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Respect for Life Embryonic Stem Cell 
Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) The President's Council on Bioethics in its May 2005 
        White Paper: ``Alternative Sources of Pluripotent Stem Cells,'' 
        acknowledges that pluripotent stem cell lines might be derived 
        from an early stage human embryo without harming the embryo's 
        prospects for developing into a baby.
            (2) Identical twinning occurs spontaneously in nature 
        during at least two stages of the in vivo human development 
        process demonstrating the viability and feasibility of the 
        removal of some cells from an early stage human embryo without 
        harming the embryo's ability to develop into a baby.
            (3) The removal of some cells from living human embryos is 
        already occurring to conduct preimplantation genetic diagnosis 
        (``PGD''). PGD is a procedure increasingly offered to 
        individuals seeking to become parents as an option in 
        conjunction with assisted reproductive technologies to diagnose 
        their embryos created through in vitro fertilization (``IVF'') 
        for genetic and chromosomal abnormalities prior to implantation 
        and pregnancy.
            (4) There have been reports that more than 1,000 babies 
        have been born worldwide and more than 150 babies have been 
        born in the United States after undergoing PGD as early stage 
        embryos.
            (5) IVF to create and PGD to diagnose early stage human 
        embryos is proceeding without Federal funding.
            (6) There is no Federal prohibition against using IVF to 
        create or PGD to diagnose early stage human embryos.
            (7) Informed parental consent is obtained and granted by 
        individuals to utilize IVF and PGD on behalf of themselves and 
        to benefit their children.
            (8) Cells removed for PGD from an early stage human embryo 
        might be cultured to produce and store a stock of cells that 
        could become a genetically matched repair kit for that 
        individual.
            (9) Surplus cells from an individual's repair kit might be 
        used to establish an embryonic stem cell line made available 
        for basic and applied research to develop treatments for 
        debilitating and deadly human ailments.
            (10) Individuals seeking to become parents who have already 
        chosen and committed to use PGD and establish a repair kit for 
        the benefit of their children could have the option to donate 
        surplus cells from their children's repair kit for the 
        establishment of a new embryonic stem cell line.

SEC. 3. DERIVATION OF STEM CELLS WITHOUT HARMING EMBRYOS; ANIMAL 
              RESEARCH THROUGH NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH.

    Part B of title IV of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C 284) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 409J. BASIC AND APPLIED RESEARCH ON DERIVATION OF STEM CELLS 
              WITHOUT HARMING EMBRYOS.

    ``(a) In General.--With respect to producing stem cell lines for 
research on treatments for diseases and other adverse health 
conditions, the Director of NIH shall, through the appropriate national 
research institutes, provide for the conduct and support of basic and 
applied research--
            ``(1) to develop techniques for the derivation of stem 
        cells from embryos that do not harm the embryos; and
            ``(2) in the case of stem cells that are derived without 
        harming the embryo, to develop techniques for storing the stem 
        cells for the possibility that in the future a therapy may be 
        developed that uses the stem cells of an animal to adapt the 
        therapy to that particular animal.
    ``(b) Prohibitions Regarding Clinical Research.--Research under 
subsection (a) may not include clinical research, and may not include 
any research that--
            ``(1) involves the derivation of stem cells from human 
        embryos; or
            ``(2) uses any stem cell to create or to attempt to create 
        a human embryo.
    ``(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--For the purpose of carrying 
out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 in 
the aggregate for the fiscal years 2006 through 2010.''.
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