Planned Parenthood and Congress (interstate, Reagan, abortions, state)

[GreenGene]

A very brief history of Planned Parenthood and fetal tissue.

Prior to 1988: fetal tissue from abortions could be used in scientific research.

1988: the Reagan administration initiated a moratorium on fetal tissue from abortions being used in scientific research.

1993: Congress passes the National Institutes of Health Revitalization Act, an act which included the authorization for research on human fetal tissue. Several prominent Congressional Republicans voted in favor of that Act, including Mitch McConnell, Lamar Smith, and Fred Upton.

I found the bill here: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-1...LS-103s1is.htm

[1] It amended the Public Health Service Act, Sect. 498A, including:

Source of tissue.--Human fetal tissue may be used in research carried out under paragraph (1) regardless of whether the tissue is obtained pursuant to a spontaneous or induced abortion or pursuant to a stillbirth.

It amended the Public Health Service Act, Sect. 498B, as follows:

(a) Purchase of Tissue.--It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly acquire, receive, or otherwise transfer any human fetal tissue for valuable consideration if the transfer affects interstate commerce.

(b) Solicitation or Acceptance of Tissue as Directed Donation for Use in Transplantation.--It shall be unlawful for any person to solicit or knowingly acquire, receive, or accept a donation of human fetal tissue for the purpose of transplantation of such tissue into another person if the donation affects interstate commerce, the tissue will be or is obtained pursuant to an induced abortion...

[2] It amended the Public Health Service Act, Sect. 498B, including:

(d) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:

(3) The term `valuable consideration' does not include reasonable payments associated with the transportation, implantation, processing, preservation, quality control, or storage of human fetal tissue.''.