After nearly backing away from the issue this afternoon, Senate Republicans on Thursday evening passed a bill that would prohibit at least one form of embryonic stem cell research in Georgia.
Somatic cell nuclear transfers, a form of research being used to find a cure for juvenile diabetes, would barred under the legislation, which over the course of six days had morphed several times.
When it finally passed, S.B. 169 was stripped of all penalties, criminal and civil, and faces an unlikely future in the House. Even so, Christian conservatives claimed victory and predicted it would send a message to biotech companies thinking of doing business in Georgia.