AG: Romney-era rules hinder research

Attorney General Martha Coakley (AP photo)

Attorney General Martha Coakley says stem cell regulations enacted during the Romney administration counteract the intent of legislation passed one year earlier to encourage cutting-edge research in Massachusetts.

Then-Governor Mitt Romney vetoed the 2005 stem cell legislation, but the House and Senate overrode him. Stem cell research advocates said the regulations enacted in August undermine the changes in the law.

"The Romney administration, through the Department of Public Health, put restrictive regulations on who and under what circumstances that research could go forward. That, I believe, is in direct contravention to what the legislative intent was that in changing the old statute," Coakley said today after a speech to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.

Coakley did not say which specific regulations she wished to have repealed. One prohibits creating fertilized embryos solely for research.

Romney, a Republican who has formed a presidential exploratory committee, has said he switched from being pro-choice to anti-abortion after disagreeing with a Harvard University researcher who told him there were no moral issues involved in destroying 14-day-old fertilized embryos.

Researchers say stem cells are important because of their potential to transform into any type of human tissue, potentially leading to new treatments for diseases. Opponents, including President Bush and the Vatican, argue that even the earliest stages of human life should not be sacrificed.
(AP)