Although the future of embryonic stem cell research and human cloning in Iowa may be threatened by legislation currently in the Iowa House, ISU researchers will not feel the impact of the bill.

If passed, Senate File 2118, called the Embryo Research and Cloning Act, would place a ban on research that destroys human embryos or is directed at cloning a human being.

Much of the research being done about human embryonic stem cells is going on at medical schools and private institutions, so the likelihood of people using human embryonic stem cells at Iowa State is very low, said Donald Sakaguchi, associate professor of zoology and genetics.

The Board of Regents voiced its opposition of the bill at a meeting earlier this semester.

Sakaguchi said state-imposed limits upon research “could create a major problem . where the restrictions imposed by the state were more strict than that of the federal government or the funding organization.”

The current legislation, however, includes an exception that provides for no conflict with current federal regulations on embryonic stem cell research.

Sen. John Redwine, R-Sioux City, said he initiated the legislation because he believes human cloning should not be performed in Iowa.

He also said the state lacks regulation on destructive research.

Ethical reasons also came into play when deciding on the implications of the bill, Redwine said.

“It is not ethical to destroy or kill another human being for the sake of anyone,” he said. “That kind of research involves sacrificing one human being for another.”

Redwine said the bill would not affect any current research in Iowa.

“It would not affect any of the programs dealing with stem cell research other than on human beings,” he said. “The only thing that it will ban is the killing of an human embryo in Iowa.”

Redwine said most of the useful research has been done on adult stem cells, and other alternatives to embryonic stem cell research do exist.

“I feel strongly that this is an unethical area of research and we have other avenues of research that are much more promising than pursuing this,” he said.

Opponents of the bill say it will place a damper on the future of research for therapeutic benefits from stem cell research, and possibly other areas of research.

“I think that it will really have a detrimental effect of really chilling research and the idea of research,” said Sen. Robert Dvorsky, D-Coralville.

Dvorsky said federal guidelines already in place sufficiently regulate research on human cells.

“The research should be under the federal guidelines and not necessarily some artificial guidelines the state of Iowa came up with,” he said. “

Dvorsky said the issue is not necessarily an abortion issue.

He also said if research were stopped in this area, there would be no limit to what could be banned in other areas of research.

Opponents to the bill include organizations like Planned Parenthood and the Iowa Medical Society.

There was also concern expressed by researchers from the University of Iowa, Dvorsky said.