Wisconsin Lawmakers Propose Ending "Gain-of-Function" Research

Monday, January 15th, 2024 -- 8:01 AM

(Corrinne Hess, Wisconsin Public Radio) Wisconsin lawmakers are considering ending "gain-of-function" research at all higher education institutions in the state.

According to Corrinne Hess with Wisconsin Public Radio, the rare practice of modifying risky pathogens to make them more harmful to people during research has become political and controversial since the COVID-19 outbreak.

The GOP-written bill prohibits higher education institutions from conducting this type of research on "potentially pandemic pathogens." If any school, including a Universities of Wisconsin college, technical college or private or nonprofit institution, does conduct this type of research, funding would be withheld from the institution the following year.

A "potentially pandemic pathogen” is defined in the bill to mean a virus, bacteria, fungus or eukaryotic parasite, or any strain or variant of a virus, bacteria, fungus or eukaryotic parasite.

State Rep. Elijah Behnke, R-Oconto, and Sen. André Jacque, R-DePere, testified on behalf of the bill this week during an Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities hearing.

Both cited previous incidents at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the lab leak theory that COVID-19 came from Wuhan, China. Behnke said just one lab at UW-Madison is conducting this type of research.

But if a person becomes infected, resulting lawsuits could bankrupt the whole Universities of Wisconsin system. The bill would also require a person to submit a report to the state Department of Health Services at least three months before beginning research on a potentially pandemic pathogen.

If a person or lab does not timely provide a report, they may be required to forfeit no less than $50,000 nor more than $100,000 for each day a report is not provided.

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