North Carolina Legislative Panel Passes Stem Cell Research Guidelines 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
July 28, 2007
Raleigh, NC (LifeNews.com) — Pro-life advocates got mixed news on Thursday when the largest committee in the state legislature approved a bill setting new state guidelines for stem cell research. The bill allows the destruction of human life by promoting embryonic stem cell research but lawmakers took away taxpayer funding of it.
Under the bill, the state will officially allow research using so-called leftover human embryos from fertility clinics. Scientists will be allowed to destroy the days-old unborn children for research.
However, legislators made it so taxpayers don’t have to pay for the research by stripping the measure of a $10 million appropriation that would have given money to the state Health and Wellness Trust Fund for embryonic and adult stem cell research.
Rep. Earl Jones, a Democrat, said the money was eliminated because it would have taken up to a year to set up guidelines for the disbursements of grants from the money.
Following approval from the House Appropriations Committee on a 45-35 vote, the bill now heads to the full state House for consideration.
Barbara Holt, president of North Carolina Right to Life, lobbied against the bill because she doesn’t want the state on record as supporting scientific research that kills human beings.
"People want cures but they don’t want cures by destroying human life," she said, according to the Wilmington Star newspaper.
Related web sites:
North Carolina Right to Life – https://www.ncrtl.org
North Carolina Legislature – https://www.ncga.state.nc.us
