PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Pennsylvania missed Thursday’s constitutional deadline for a finalized budget. One of the more prominent hang-ups is funding for the four state-related universities, as House Republicans have tied that funding to ending fetal stem cell research.
In question is state funding for Temple University, Pennsylvania State University, University of Pittsburgh, and Lincoln University, hung up after Republicans in the state House, earlier this week, voted for an amendment that would require each of the universities to sign-off on an agreement that they must not engage in research or experimentation using fetal tissue obtained from an elective abortion.
Amendment sponsor, Schuylkill County Republican Jerry Knowles, says he doesn’t want to hold up funding to the universities, but instead wants to “help Pitt get themselves out of a problem they created.”
Democrats argued the bill is not about the legality of abortion, but about keeping college affordable.
“Scientific advancements to combat our most cruel diseases like ALS, Parkinson’s, and HIV depend on the study of human tissue and fetal tissue, and Pitt has a proven history of pushing medical research forward,” said Allegheny County Democrat Dan Frankel.
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Further, Frankel said, Pitt has proven it follows all rules and regulations regarding the research.
“The University of Pittsburgh’s medical research program has not one bit of impact on how many abortions take place in the commonwealth. Shutting down this research would not stop abortions, it would only stop medical advancements,” Frankel said.
The amendment passed mostly along party lines, with three Republicans breaking ranks and voting against it, including Chris Quinn from Delaware County and Todd Stephens from Montgomery County.
Votes on funding for the state-related universities have typically been a formality. Another amendment that would have forced Penn State to reveal the location of the Joe Paterno statue, introduced by Western Pennsylvania Republican Aaron Bernstine, was voted down.