Title: Protecting Cures Act of 2020
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Protecting Cures Act of 2020
This bill prohibits the Department of Health and Human Services from withholding funding, because of ethical considerations, for research activities that use human fetal tissue, provided that the research activities have been recommended for approval by an institutional review board and otherwise comply with existing laws concerning human fetal tissue. The bill also establishes that this research is not unethical by deeming the 1988 report of the Human Fetal Tissue Transplantation Research Panel as meeting relevant statutory requirements with respect to approving the ethical status of such research.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6417 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6417

To prohibit the Secretary of Health and Human Services from withholding 
  funds for certain research using human fetal tissue, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 31, 2020

   Ms. Schakowsky (for herself, Mr. Pocan, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr. 
  Nadler, Ms. Speier, Ms. DeGette, Ms. Frankel, Ms. DelBene, and Mr. 
   Huffman) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To prohibit the Secretary of Health and Human Services from withholding 
  funds for certain research using human fetal tissue, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Cures Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION AGAINST WITHHOLDING FUNDS IN CASES OF TECHNICAL AND 
              SCIENTIFIC MERIT.

    (a) In General.--In the case of any proposal for research using 
human fetal tissue, the Secretary of Health and Human Services may not 
withhold funds because of considerations under subsection (b)(1) of 
section 492A of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 289a-1) if--
            (1) the research has been recommended for approval in 
        accordance with paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a) of 
        such section 492A;
            (2) the research will be carried out in accordance with 
        section 498A of such Act (42 U.S.C. 289g-1); and
            (3) there are reasonable assurances that the research will 
        not utilize any human fetal tissue that has been obtained in 
        violation of section 498B(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 289g-2).
    (b) Standing Approval Regarding Ethical Status.--In the case of any 
proposal for research using human fetal tissue, the issuance of the 
report of the Human Fetal Tissue Transplantation Research Panel in 
December 1988 shall be deemed to be a report--
            (1) issued by an ethics advisory board pursuant to section 
        492A(b)(5)(B)(ii) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
        289a-1(b)(5)(B)(ii)); and
            (2) finding, on a basis that is neither arbitrary nor 
        capricious, that the nature of the research is such that it is 
        not unethical to conduct or support the research.
    (c) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term ``human 
fetal tissue'' has the meaning given such term in section 498A of the 
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 289g-1).
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