Patrick names own majority to council, can undo Romney policy
BOSTON --Gov. Deval Patrick named a majority of members to the state's Public Health Council on Friday, giving him the power to push ahead with his health agenda and reverse stem cell restrictions imposed by his predecessor, GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney.
Those restrictions, imposed last August as Romney was gearing up his presidential bid, drew complaints from researchers who said they could be prohibited from using some embryonic stem cells.
Researchers and supporters of stem cell research also argued the restrictions undercut a 2005 law that had been approved by the Legislature over Romney's veto.
Patrick, who supports stem cell research, last month told a meeting of the Life Sciences Collaborative that he would ask the council, which approved the changes under Romney, to revisit the policy.
On Friday he moved one step closer, appointing 11 members to the 15-person panel. The remaining four appointments are expected soon.
"Public health policy must be informed by the best science and health information that we have available to us," Health and Human Services Secretary JudyAnn Bigby said in a statement.
The council is the policy arm of the Department of Public Health. It was expanded last year from eight members to the current 15 as part of the state's landmark health care law.
It has the authority to issue rules and regulations related to health care, health care facilities, patient protection and other areas of public health policy.
The council also plays a role in ensuring the equal distribution of health care resources throughout the state by reviewing and approving plans by hospitals to expand or add additional services.
"The new members of the Public Health Council represent a broad spectrum of public health and health care expertise," said state health commissioner John Auerbach, the council's new chairman.
On the agenda for the new board's first meeting on Wednesday is a presentation on stem cell research by Dr. David Scadden, director of the Center for Regenerative Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Embryonic stem cells have the capacity to become any cell in the body, and scientists are eager to expand their research with them to treat a variety of diseases, from Alzheimer's to diabetes.
Abortion opponents complain about the destruction of embryos that occurs in harvesting the cells. Romney has been heavily courting social conservatives.
Massachusetts' 2005 law was designed to encourage embryonic stem cell research. It also clarified that district attorneys could not charge scientists for the type of research they perform.
But the council, under Romney, approved regulations prohibiting the creation of fertilized embryos solely for the purpose of conducting research. Romney had inserted a similar provision into the 2005 legislation. It was removed by the Legislature.
Patrick has said reversing the Romney policy would restore the intent of the law.
"That political debate happened during the debate about the legislation," Patrick said last month. "There was a vote, and the governor's previous position did not prevail in that vote. And then he re-imposed it in the regulations. That's a problem."
