Bill would prevent sale of fetal tissue

Members of the Judiciary Committee heard testimony March 2 on a bill that would prohibit the sale of fetal tissue for profit.

LB990, introduced by Hyannis Sen. Al Davis, would make unlawful the acquisition, receipt or transfer of human fetal tissue for profit.

Disposal of human remains by authorized abortion providers would be limited to burial, cremation or approved hospital-type incineration. Abortion providers would be required to submit to the state a monthly report detailing the treatment of each aborted fetus.

Davis said Gov. Pete Ricketts ordered an investigation into the alleged sale of human fetal tissue in November 2015 after several sting videos surfaced purporting to show evidence of the practice. The investigation results showed no such sales had occurred in Nebraska.

“The [state Department of Health and Human Services] did not find evidence of [sales],” he said, “but [LB990] would make certain the practice would not happen in Nebraska and if it did we would have the law in place to stop it.”

Patrick Borchers of Omaha spoke in favor of the bill, saying it would not impede medical research of human fetal tissue.

“[The bill] does not prevent the transfer of tissue for purposes of research as long as the reimbursement is limited to reasonable costs,” Borchers said. “It may well be that this practice is not going on in Nebraska. This is just a proactive effort to ensure that there is no sale for profit.”

Meg Mikolajczyk, representing Planned Parenthood, opposed the bill. She said the bill’s limitations on disposal of an aborted human fetus would in fact prevent tissue donation for medical research.

“This bill is a knee-jerk reaction to fraudulently edited videos as an attack against Planned Parenthood and reproductive health care,” she said. “[Human fetal tissue] has been instrumental in developing cures for viruses that affect only human cells. The direct impact [of LB990] is to rob those diagnosed with disease from being able to find a cure.”

The committee took no immediate action on the bill.