26:2Z-1 Findings, declarations relative to human stem cell research.

1. The Legislature finds and declares that:

a. An estimated 128 million Americans suffer from the crippling economic and psychological burden of chronic, degenerative and acute diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, cancer, diabetes and Parkinson's disease;

b. The costs of treating, and lost productivity from, chronic, degenerative and acute diseases in the United States constitutes hundreds of billions of dollars annually. Estimates of the economic costs of these diseases does not account for the extreme human loss and suffering associated with these conditions;

c. Human stem cell research offers immense promise for developing new medical therapies for these debilitating diseases and a critical means to explore fundamental questions of biology. Stem cell research could lead to unprecedented treatments and potential cures for Alzheimer's disease, cancer, diabetes, Parkinson's disease and other diseases;

d. The United States has historically been a haven for open scientific inquiry and technological innovation; and this environment, combined with the commitment of public and private resources, has made this nation the preeminent world leader in biomedicine and biotechnology;

e. The biomedical industry is a critical and growing component of New Jersey's economy, and would be significantly diminished by limitations imposed on stem cell research;

f. Open scientific inquiry and publicly funded research will be essential to realizing the promise of stem cell research and maintaining this State's leadership in biomedicine and biotechnology. Publicly funded stem cell research, conducted under established standards of open scientific exchange, peer review and public oversight, offers the most efficient and responsible means of fulfilling the promise of stem cells to provide regenerative medical therapies;

g. Stem cell research, including the use of embryonic stem cells for medical research, raises significant ethical and public policy concerns; and, although not unique, the ethical and policy concerns associated with stem cell research must be carefully considered; and

h. The public policy of this State governing stem cell research must: balance ethical and medical considerations, based upon both an understanding of the science associated with stem cell research and a thorough consideration of the ethical concerns regarding this research; and be carefully crafted to ensure that researchers have the tools necessary to fulfill the promise of this research.

L.2003,c.203,s.1.