President Barack Obama recently reversed former President George W. Bush’s 2001 funding ban against human embryonic stem cell research, but some Oklahoma lawmakers are trying to ban research of the same type of cells.

If passed, House Bill 1326 will make the research of embryonic stem cells, which are taken from unborn fetuses, a misdemeanor because “it would kill a human embryo or subject it to a substantial risk of death or injury,” the bill states.

“Saving lives has been a focus of my legislative career and this is a significant issue,” said Rep. Mike Reynolds, R-Oklahoma City, author of the bill. “If we cannot protect the unborn, we are destined to not survive.”

Reynolds said he is glad the Oklahoma legislature had the foresight to create the bill in response to Obama’s reversal of Bush’s funding ban.

There is currently no embryonic stem cell research in the state.

The OU Health Sciences Center, a state leader of stem cell research, does not conduct embryonic stem cell research because of Bush’s ban on the National Institutes of Health’s funding of embryonic stem cell research. The institutes are national leaders in medical research funding.

But with the funding ban now lifted, there is new medical potential for Oklahoma citizens to benefit from embryonic stem cell research.

Embryonic stem cells could develop into any of the cell types found in the human adult body, like neurons, cardiac or muscle tissue, insulin-secreting pancreatic islet cells or a liver, said Jim Tomasek, cell biology professor.

Scientists speculate what the cells could develop into could help with Alzheimer’s disease and spinal cord injuries.

Embryonic stem cell research also could create regenerative medicine to form any cell type, tissue or organ found in the adult.

“The reason for [the possibility in regenerative medicine] is that they are derived from cells present in the 5-day-old human blastocyst that would normally form the embryo and subsequently the adult human,” Tomasek said.

He said lifting the ban on the National Institutes of Health funding would provide an opportunity for any scientist to apply to receive funding from the institutes to perform embryonic stem cell research.

But Tomasek said if Reynold’s bill is passed, Oklahoma would be put at odds with the institutes’ funding for embryonic stem cell research and other states that allow the research.

Tomasek said the fate of the bill isn’t in his hands and Oklahomans need to let their lawmakers know whether or not they think the bill is a smart decision.