Church Gives State the Noogie

The Ohio Senate passed a bill to limit stem cell research on Tuesday. According to the Post article, legislators "struggled with the scientific implications" but passed it anyway.

The bill puts the same guidelines on state funding that Bush put on federal funding: funds are only given for research on already stem cell lines that existed before 2001. The bill also bans therapeutic cloning (a bit like banning home plate from baseball).

Stem cell research is opposed by right-wing religious groups (as is most scientific progress). Is the Ohio legislature caving in to the religious right on this bill? How can it be in Ohio's long-term interest to market itself as a state that not only welcomes ignorance, but legislates with it?

Sadly, these questions will be answered soon when the bill goes to the House, which "is considering its own stricter version of the bill that bans cloning altogether and calls for fines and prison terms for violations." [The Post]

Learn about cloning from this brief article, this longer article, or this other longer article with pictures.
For an overview written by scientists for scientists, go here.