Contact: Rod Hise, 608-770-7850
rod@rodhise.com
MADISON, Wis., March 9, 2017 – The following is a statement by Rod Hise, spokesman for Cures for Tomorrow, a coalition of Wisconsin academic research institutions, bioscience-related trade groups and health care providers. The coalition supports and advocates for biomedical research in Wisconsin and is committed to educating the public about the value of biomedical research to patients and the state.
“LRB-1754 would ban lifesaving biomedical research in Wisconsin and criminalize the researchers who conduct it. The bill would reach into labs and end ongoing, pioneering research on heart disease, cancer, infectious disease, and neurological and developmental disorders.
“Research that uses fetal cells and tissue is already heavily regulated by federal law and the rigorous institutional policies of Cures for Tomorrow members. Profiting from the sale of fetal tissue, for example, has been a federal crime for more than two decades. Our members strongly oppose profiting from the sale of fetal tissue. Additional state regulation of fetal tissue research is not needed.
“We strongly urge the state Legislature to reject this ban on fetal tissue research in Wisconsin. The ban would be devastating to the remarkable opportunity we have to develop new, lifesaving vaccines, therapies and cures that will benefit patients across Wisconsin.”
Cures for Tomorrow’s members include BioForward, the member-driven voice of Wisconsin’s bioscience industry; the Medical College of Wisconsin; UW Health, the academic health care entities of the University of Wisconsin-Madison; the University of Wisconsin-Madison; and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.
