Oklahoma legislator moves to make scientific research illegal

Just in case you all were worried OK legislators were only concerned with how to teach children Creationism, Bill 1326:

B. No person shall:
1. Knowingly conduct nontherapeutic (ERV– he means any research that intends to ‘save the life’ of the embryo is okay) research that destroys a human embryo or subjects a human embryo to substantial risk of injury or death;
2. Transfer a human embryo with the knowledge that the embryo will be subjected to nontherapeutic research; or
3. Use for research purposes cells or tissues that the person knows were obtained by performing activities in violation of this section.
C. Any person or any business entity recognized by the laws of this state that engages in, or is associated with a business entity that engages in, the actions prohibited by subsection B of this section shall not be eligible for any Oklahoma income tax credits. No state agency or retirement system shall invest in a business entity that engages in the acts prohibited by subsection B of this section.
D. Any person found violating the provisions of subsection B of this section shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor.

Why is Mike Reynolds doing this?

“My motivation is to protect unborn children.”

He later added “Live children can fuck off. Who the fuck gives a shit about born babies? LOL, or grown ups? Yeah, fuck that shit!”

Hat Tip to THAMNO.

Comments

#1 Aseem
March 17, 2009

Reminds of the the George Carlin line ‘They want to protect unborn children so that they can convert them to dead soldiers in the future.’I don’t understand US law – once the ban on stem cell research has been legally and constitutionally lifted by the President himself, at the national level, how can a small time leaky nosed Oklahoma representative come up with a legislation banning something that has been made legal centrally?
#2 The Science Pundit
March 17, 2009

“subjects a human embryo to substantial risk of injury or death”???

What would an injured embryo be? Let’s see. Researchers harvest a discarded embryo for its stem cells. In order to not kill said embryo, they implant the modified embryo into a surrogate mother (perhaps with seven other embryos who have had their cells donated to science). The resulting baby, while alive, is not normal, and hence the researchers have injured the embryo.

Or perhaps he means that as long as stem cells from the embryo are still alive, then the embryo isn’t dead. However, it is no longer viable for implantation, therefore it’s injured.

Oy! And that’s just some of the stupidity found in just point B1. There’s so much more!

The Stupid, It Burns!
#3 BeamStalk
March 17, 2009

The continual retardary here, makes me want to look elsewhere for work. I was born in Oklahoma and have lived most of my life here but these morons make me look bad. I wrote Thomsen about his stupid resolution and his only response was “Can you tell me what part of my resolution attempted to or had the power to censor?” I wrote him back showing where he tried to keep Dawkins from speaking, how is that not a form of censorship? He has yet to respond to that.

Now I will write this idiot and my representative and hope this gets quashed like all the other retarded bills going forward lately.
#4 minusRusty
March 17, 2009

Kilzing teh lyf would only be a misdemeanor?!?

-Rusty
#5 D. C. Sessions
March 17, 2009

Actually, my favorite part is subsection (C) — the secondary boycott. Since biotech is dominated by multinational conglomerates, I read that as denying OK tax credits to every single person in the State who has ever taken an aspirin (or any other pharmaceutical, first aid medication, used a bandage, etc.)

This little bill could save the State $BILLIONS!!!!
#6 MikeMa
March 17, 2009

Aseem,
While I agree with your sentiments, I believe that OK can restrict the activity in their state if they so choose. State’s rights and all that. I do not believe the bill is likely to pass or be signed into law but it is a wonder that the fools keep putting up such big targets to shoot (and laugh) at.

On the other hand, how likely is it that a company doing advanced biology would look at OK as a viable place to locate?
#7 TheEngima32
March 17, 2009

Let ‘em pass this law. That’s more biotech companies coming to places that need them – like my home state, Michigan While Michigan is finding cures for cancer, y’all can still be in the dark ages peddling woo and prayer circles.
#8 D. C. Sessions
March 17, 2009

While Michigan is finding cures for cancer, y’all can still be in the dark ages peddling woo and prayer circles.

OK for the win! Let MI fund the search for cures, and OK can have the money-makers like dial-a-prayer — and then take the credit as well as the cure!
#9 J-Dog
March 17, 2009

Abbie – Can’t you get a St Rep to submit a bill that would make it illegal to be a walking talking stupid jackass of an elected official in OK?
#10 Brian
March 17, 2009

We’ve been trying to do that since the 18th century. Not a simple problem.
#11 D. C. Sessions
March 17, 2009

Not a simple problem.

Might shorten the ballots a bit. Maybe even the payroll.
#12 Deamiter
March 17, 2009

Maybe I’m just an idiot (not to be confused with an IDiot) but I understand where they’re coming from. If you assume that life starts at fertilization, this kind of research is no less horrific than some of the experiments on prisoners in Nazi extermination camps.

That’s a key issue here — all this discussion of making science illegal or of murdering babies is just people talking past each other. The Bible doesn’t explicitly define when a person becomes a person, and at what point killing them can be murder. Neither does science have much to say on the beginning of personhood.

Anyway, I agree with the position of ERV and most of those commenting here, but it should be acknowledged that science is a side issue here — no scientist I know suggests that we should kill babies for research! Then again, I don’t know many scientists who think embryonic stem cells are human persons. To make any progress in this area we need more discussion of this philosophical definition of personhood (as painful as that might be in mainstream media), not more scientists and protesters talking past each other.
#13 vhutchison
March 17, 2009

Slightly off topic, but another creotard religosity anti-evolution bill has apparently died! HB 1001, ‘Religious Viewpoints Antidiscrimination Act,’ did not receive the third reading required before the deadline last Thursday and is now labeled as ‘dormant.’ This is the same bill (under a different number), with minor modification that Silly Sally Kern authored last year and the Governor vetoed after many individuals and State and national organizations weighed in against the bill. OESE had a major role in mobilizing the opposition. However, it is possible that it could re-emerge as an amendment to another bill, but not too likely. Perhaps it died due to the Republican House leadership finally deciding that such crap is a waste of time? Analysis of these two bills are on the OESE web site (http://www.oklascience.org/ .

It now appears that the really bad bills that would attack science in public schools are now gone, but we must keep watch. SB 320, the Academic Freedom Act’, died in a Senate committee. If these hold, it will be 10 years that creationist doo-doo has failed in Oklahoma! Take that Texas, Kansas, Louisiana, etc.! Many commenters here and on other blogs have been quite derogatory about Oklahoma, with some good reasons perhaps, but we have prevailed so far. [We do not rest, however, ever vigilant for more attempts].
#14 D. C. Sessions
March 17, 2009

If you assume that life starts at fertilization

Then every heterosexually-active woman not using contraception (as well as those using some kinds which prevent implantation) is guilty of at least negligent homicide, simply based on the number of fertilized-but-not-carried-to-term eggs that have gone down the tubes.
#15 windy
March 17, 2009

…I understand where they’re coming from. If you assume that life starts at fertilization, this kind of research is no less horrific than some of the experiments on prisoners in Nazi extermination camps.

“no less horrific” except those prisoners could actually feel pain and suffer. Slight difference?

And all the discarded embryos from IVF are destined for the extermination part anyway! If they’re going to make the analogy to death camps, why not protest the thousands of embryos incinerated in NAZI OVENS at IVF clinics?
#16 Pi Guy
March 17, 2009

“If you assume that life starts at fertilization”

Just read earlier today on Pharyngula that life began in the primordial soup and has been evolving ever since. Hard to argue…
#17 Confused
March 18, 2009

I wonder if this only applies to live embryos… quite a bit of useful developmental biology can be done post mortem. I’m not advocating that use of human embryonic tissue should be unregulated – quite the opposite – I’m just curious as to whether this ban would include, say, performing an in situ hybridisation on a human embryo.
#18 freelunch
March 18, 2009

If you assume that life starts at fertilization and that there is a God, then you have to assume that God loves abortion because He is by far the most prolific abortionist. Will Oklahoma be trying God for murder?
#19 William Wallace
March 19, 2009

Wow, what’s next, passing laws against Japanese scientists performing experiments on Chinese ~~victims~~ subjects? The gull of these conservatives.
#20 LanceR, JSG
March 19, 2009

And the award for Willfully Misunderstanding And Misrepresenting the Issue goes to…

William Wallace!
(yay!)
#21 Eric Saveau
March 19, 2009

And the award for Willfully Misunderstanding And Misrepresenting the Issue goes to… William Wallace!

Damn! That’s the eighty-fourth time this month he’s won! No fair! How did he get so good at that? Is is the only thing he does?

[checks the records]

Hmm. Very nearly… so I guess he’s earned it.
#22 Rayven Alandria
March 21, 2009

Just when I thought our state reps could not get any more stupid.*sigh*
#23 clevedan
March 21, 2009

yea…more research at my OSU instead of your OSU….although we have our own ‘tard problems in OHIO

j/k
#24 Notagod
March 21, 2009

Although I am not in favor of Bill 1326, I do note that it is woefully incomplete and lacks a key provision:

E: As it is probable that research deemed illegal by this bill will be conducted in other states and/or countries, and as some treatments for disease and illness are likely to be found and practiced in the future, which are the result of such illegal research. Any person that can be shown to have benefited in any way from such treatments, will be hanged by the neck until dead.
#25 Heretic
April 3, 2009

Does this render invitro fertilization illegal?
#26 The Other Elwood
April 28, 2009

@10- My wife overheard our pastor in say that we need to get back to the 18th century because the modern world in brainwashing and corrupting our children. It is an atonishing statement, especially since he presides over the biggest and most technically advanced church building and organization in the state.

The auditorium, sound systems, video presentations and modern rock-sounding churhc band rival the quality that one would see in any major arena show. The website design is top-notch, with a full-time staff dedicated to it alone. But the 17th century was better.

Sigh. Yeah, I know, I should not bother attending such a place. I am fast becoming a secular christian, attending out of habit and for pagentry rather than any real religious reason.