GOP abortion bill would ban use of fetal tissue

Fetal tissue obtained from an abortion in Texas could no longer be used in medical research under a bill filed Thursday by Republican state senators.

The legislation by state Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, also would prohibit the sale of fetal body parts for research — giving state prosecutors jurisdiction over a practice that is already banned by federal law — and prohibit “partial-birth” abortion, a late-term procedure that also is against U.S. law.

“People of conscience can’t stand by while unborn babies are monetized and traded like some sort of perverse commodity,” Schwertner said. “The state has a moral obligation to protect our most vulnerable Texans, a group that certainly includes the unborn.”

Abortion rights advocates called Schwertner’s bill — which will be considered in the legislative session that begins in January — an unnecessary duplication of federal law that, particularly in the case of partial-birth abortions, attacks a problem that doesn’t exist.

Read more: http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news/gop-abortion-bill-would-ban-use-of-fetal-tissue/ns9f6/