HARRISBURG, Pa. — If the University of Pittsburgh wants its annual $151 million appropriation from the state, it will have to stop its fetal tissue research.
Pennsylvania House Republicans amended this requirement into the state's appropriation bill for its four state-related universities by a 108-92 vote. Three GOP members, including Rep. Lori Mizgorski, R-Shaler, joined Democrats in opposing the amendment.
The past few years, Pitt has come under fire from some of the state House's most conservative members for its fetal tissue research. The disapproval has only grown among House GOP members over the last year for the role former Chancellor Mark Nordenberg played as chairman of the state's reapportionment committee. The committee redrew district lines in Western Pennsylvania to represent its declining population, which caused some local Republican incumbents to be drawn into the same district or lose their party advantage.
