Wisconsin Assembly committee to vote on fetal tissue ban

MADISON — The chairman of the Wisconsin State Assembly criminal justice committee says the panel plans to vote Sept. 9 on a bill that would make it a felony to perform research using tissue obtained from aborted fetuses.

Republican state Rep. Joel Kleefisch said Friday that he wanted to give plenty of notice of the upcoming vote, which is roughly a month after the public hearing on the measure.

The Republican-backed bill would outlaw selling, donating and experimenting with cells, tissues, organs, or other fetal body parts.

The bill's backers were working on an amendment to address concerns raised by the University of Wisconsin and private researchers about what effect the ban would have on their work.

That amendment has yet to be formally introduced.