SECTION 1.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(1) Isolation of human embryonic stem cells represents a major step forward in human biology and has generated much interest among scientists and the public, particularly among patients and their advocates regarding the benefits of human embryonic stem cells and stem cell research.
(2) Because human embryonic stem cells can give rise to many different types of cells, such as muscle cells, nerve cells, heart cells, and others, they are enormously important to science and hold great promise for advances in health care.
(3) Research using human embryonic stem cells may help scientists generate cells and tissue that could be used for transplantation and may someday be used as replacement cells and tissue to treat many chronic diseases and conditions, including Parkinson’s disease, spinal injury, stroke, burns, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, and liver disease.
(4) Research involving human embryonic stem cells may also improve understanding of the complex events that occur during normal human development and what causes diseases and conditions including birth defects, pediatric brain injury, and cancer, and may improve the way new drugs are developed and tested for safety and efficacy.
(5) In view of the scientific and medical benefits that may result from research using human embryonic stem cells, it is essential that this research be supported and encouraged. However, in view of the ethical, legal, and social issues relevant to human embryonic stem cell research, it is essential that this research be subject to oversight that complements and goes beyond the oversight of human subject research provided by the Office for Human Research Protections within the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
(6) The National Institutes of Health currently has no comprehensive guidelines concerning the ethical, legal, and social issues involved with the derivation and use of human embryonic stem cells in medical research.
(b) Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature that the State Department of Health Services develop guidelines for human embryonic stem cell research in California in order to ensure that this research is guided by ethical and legal standards.