Section 1. The general court finds and declares that: (a) human embryonic stem cell research and other research in the life sciences and regenerative medicine present a significant chance of yielding fundamental biological knowledge from which may emanate therapies to relieve, on a large scale, human suffering from disease and injury; (b) the extraordinary biomedical […]
Section 10. (a) The department shall enforce this chapter and may adopt regulations, in a manner consistent with this chapter, and with the advice of the biomedical research advisory council, relating to the administration and enforcement of this chapter; but the department shall not propose or implement any regulation or rule which would have the […]
Section 3. (a) Research and clinical applications involving the derivation and use of human embryonic stem cells, including somatic cell nuclear transfer, human adult stem cells from any source, umbilical cord cells, parthenotes and placental cells shall be permitted. (b) Research involving the derivation of human embryonic stem cells through the use of human genetic […]
Section 4. (a) A physician or other health care provider who provides a patient with in vitro fertilization therapy shall provide the patient with timely, relevant and appropriate information sufficient to allow that patient to make an informed and voluntary choice regarding the disposition of any pre-implantation embryos or gametes remaining following treatment. The physician […]
Section 5. (a) The department, in partnership with the University of Massachusetts Medical School at Worcester, shall, subject to appropriation, establish and maintain a public bank for the purpose of collecting and storing umbilical cord blood and placental tissue donated by maternity patients at participating hospitals. The bank shall make the umbilical cord blood and […]
Section 6. (a) The University of Massachusetts Medical School at Worcester shall establish and maintain, subject to appropriation, a public institutional review board. The public institutional review board shall be available on an ongoing basis to an institution having not more than 50 full-time employees for review of that institution’s experimentation, study and procedures for […]
Section 7. (a) No employee shall be required to conduct scientific research, experimentation or study that involves the creation or use of pre-implantation embryos in relation to human embryonic stem cell research to the extent that such research conflicts with the sincerely-held religious practices or beliefs of the employee. (b) An institution conducting research pursuant […]
Section 8. (a) Human reproductive cloning is hereby prohibited. No person shall knowingly attempt, engage in, or assist in human reproductive cloning. No person shall knowingly purchase, sell, transfer or otherwise obtain human embryonic, gametic or cadaveric tissue for the purpose of human reproductive cloning. (b) No person shall knowingly create an embryo by the […]
Section 9. (a) There shall be a biomedical research advisory council. The council shall consist of 15 members, 1 of whom shall be the secretary of health and human services, or his designee; 1 of whom shall be the commissioner of public health, or his designee; 1 of whom shall be a scientist designated by […]
