Oklahoma redeems itself...sort of
A sort of follow-up to these posts about the fuckery going down in the Oklahoma legislature.
Oklahoma Senate sustains Gov. Brad Henry's stem cell bill veto
By Michael McNutt - Capitol Bureau
Published: April 23, 2009
Gov. Brad Henry today applauded state senators for sustaining his veto of a bill that would have made it a crime for a scientist to perform any form of embryonic stem cell research. Senators voted 26-19 this morning to override his veto. Senators needed 32 votes to override it.
The Republican-controlled Senate took up the override attempt minutes after the House voted to override the governor’s action.
The Republican-controlled House voted 68-26 to override the veto. The House needed at least 68 votes to override the veto.
Henry issued a statement shortly after the Senate voted to sustain his veto.
“I want to thank the legislators, particularly members of the Senate, who took the time to educate themselves, cut through the misinformation and cast a vote in favor of life-saving scientific research that can bring hope to thousands of Oklahomans suffering from debilitating diseases,” the governor said. In the House, Rep. Mike Reynolds, R-Oklahoma City, the House author of House Bill 1326, told House members today's vote to override the veto would be the most important they would make. Rep. Lisa Billy, R-Lindsay, said the bill would protect women, especially low-income minorities who might be pressured to sell their eggs for embryonic research.
Rep. Doug Cox, R-Grove, the only member to ask House members to sustain the veto, said supporters of the bill were relying on emotion.
"This is not about killing babies," said Cox, an emergency room doctor. "This is about cellular biology."
Rep. Pam Peterson, R-Tulsa, called the vote to override the veto "a vote for life."
Henry waited until after the House adjourned about 11 p.m. Wednesday to veto HB 1326. He waited out legislators Wednesday night to give him and the bill's opponents - such as business leaders and health care providers - more time to persuade lawmakers to sustain his veto. Wednesday was the deadline for the governor to veto the bill.
Henry, lobbied by the Oklahoma City and Tulsa chambers of commerce to veto the measure, said there were misconceptions about the bill. Although proponents billed it as a "pro-life” measure, HB 1326 does not address abortion in any manner or save a life, the governor said.
Last month, the House passed the measure, 82-6; the Senate passed it 38-9.
House Speaker Chris Benge, R-Tulsa, said the governor was wrong to veto the bill "under the cloak of darkness in order to prevent an immediate override attempt.”
“Oklahoma is a pro-life state, and its citizens are overwhelmingly opposed to research that would result in the death of an unborn child,” Benge said.
Cox said earlier that it was unfortunate "that this bill mistakenly was profiled by some as a right-to-life bill. To prohibit research before we learn if embryonic stem cells can help where adult stem cells can’t seems foolish.”
Tony Lauinger, state chairman of Oklahomans for Life, said he was disappointed with the governor’s decision.
A key part of the bill would have prohibited the creation of human embryos through cloning for the purpose of harvesting their stem cells, he said.
"A fundamental principle of medical ethics is to not experiment on a human subject without the informed consent of that human subject,” Lauinger said. "This veto violates that principle.”
Medical researchers and state business leaders worked in recent days to explain what is involved with embryonic stem cell research. Scientists believe such research could yield new treatments or cures for cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, blindness, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, spinal cord injuries and a variety of other ailments.
State business and research leaders also warned that by criminalizing legitimate scientific study, HB 1326 would have an adverse effect on Oklahoma’s research community. The measure also would have discouraged research-based industries from locating in Oklahoma, dealing a major blow to long-running efforts to make the state a center of bioscience and high-technology research, opponents of the bill said.
source
Okay, so...+1 for ultimately vetoing the bill...-10 for all the ignorance.
Oklahoma Senate sustains Gov. Brad Henry's stem cell bill veto
By Michael McNutt - Capitol Bureau
Published: April 23, 2009
Gov. Brad Henry today applauded state senators for sustaining his veto of a bill that would have made it a crime for a scientist to perform any form of embryonic stem cell research. Senators voted 26-19 this morning to override his veto. Senators needed 32 votes to override it.
The Republican-controlled Senate took up the override attempt minutes after the House voted to override the governor’s action.
The Republican-controlled House voted 68-26 to override the veto. The House needed at least 68 votes to override the veto.
Henry issued a statement shortly after the Senate voted to sustain his veto.
“I want to thank the legislators, particularly members of the Senate, who took the time to educate themselves, cut through the misinformation and cast a vote in favor of life-saving scientific research that can bring hope to thousands of Oklahomans suffering from debilitating diseases,” the governor said. In the House, Rep. Mike Reynolds, R-Oklahoma City, the House author of House Bill 1326, told House members today's vote to override the veto would be the most important they would make. Rep. Lisa Billy, R-Lindsay, said the bill would protect women, especially low-income minorities who might be pressured to sell their eggs for embryonic research.
Rep. Doug Cox, R-Grove, the only member to ask House members to sustain the veto, said supporters of the bill were relying on emotion.
"This is not about killing babies," said Cox, an emergency room doctor. "This is about cellular biology."
Rep. Pam Peterson, R-Tulsa, called the vote to override the veto "a vote for life."
Henry waited until after the House adjourned about 11 p.m. Wednesday to veto HB 1326. He waited out legislators Wednesday night to give him and the bill's opponents - such as business leaders and health care providers - more time to persuade lawmakers to sustain his veto. Wednesday was the deadline for the governor to veto the bill.
Henry, lobbied by the Oklahoma City and Tulsa chambers of commerce to veto the measure, said there were misconceptions about the bill. Although proponents billed it as a "pro-life” measure, HB 1326 does not address abortion in any manner or save a life, the governor said.
Last month, the House passed the measure, 82-6; the Senate passed it 38-9.
House Speaker Chris Benge, R-Tulsa, said the governor was wrong to veto the bill "under the cloak of darkness in order to prevent an immediate override attempt.”
“Oklahoma is a pro-life state, and its citizens are overwhelmingly opposed to research that would result in the death of an unborn child,” Benge said.
Cox said earlier that it was unfortunate "that this bill mistakenly was profiled by some as a right-to-life bill. To prohibit research before we learn if embryonic stem cells can help where adult stem cells can’t seems foolish.”
Tony Lauinger, state chairman of Oklahomans for Life, said he was disappointed with the governor’s decision.
A key part of the bill would have prohibited the creation of human embryos through cloning for the purpose of harvesting their stem cells, he said.
"A fundamental principle of medical ethics is to not experiment on a human subject without the informed consent of that human subject,” Lauinger said. "This veto violates that principle.”
Medical researchers and state business leaders worked in recent days to explain what is involved with embryonic stem cell research. Scientists believe such research could yield new treatments or cures for cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, blindness, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, spinal cord injuries and a variety of other ailments.
State business and research leaders also warned that by criminalizing legitimate scientific study, HB 1326 would have an adverse effect on Oklahoma’s research community. The measure also would have discouraged research-based industries from locating in Oklahoma, dealing a major blow to long-running efforts to make the state a center of bioscience and high-technology research, opponents of the bill said.
source
Okay, so...+1 for ultimately vetoing the bill...-10 for all the ignorance.