Senate committee holds informational hearing on bill to pause gene-therapy products after wide-ranging testimony

Senate Health and Welfare convened an informational hearing on Senate Bill 10‑36, the "Doug Cameron Act," which would impose a moratorium on the administration of any gene‑therapy product for infectious‑disease indications. Sponsor Senator Brandon Shippey opened the hearing, and the committee heard more than two dozen in‑person and remote witnesses both for and against the proposal.

The bill’s sponsor, Senator Brandon Shippey, said the measure was brought to him by a constituent and framed it as a safety pause. Doug Cameron, the constituent whose name is on the bill, told the committee he was injured after receiving a Johnson & Johnson COVID‑19 vaccine in April 2021: "Ten days later, I was paralyzed from a diaphragm down," Cameron said, and he said combined medical bills and out‑of‑pocket expenses have exceeded $2,000,000. His wife, Carla Cameron, described the personal and family toll and urged legislators to “vote for a pause.”

Why it matters: supporters argued the products have not undergone long‑term safety study and pointed to adverse‑event reporting systems and clinical anecdotes; opponents warned a moratorium would restrict tools for future pandemics and impede research. The hearing drew testimony from physicians, university researchers, first responders, county officials and several expert witnesses who appeared remotely.

Medical experts who urged a moratorium included Dr. Peter McCullough, a Dallas internist and cardiologist, who testified, "the messenger RNA gene technology transfer platform ... unfortunately, it's not safe and it's been linked to many many problems"; Dr. Christina Parks said gene‑therapy platforms require extended safety surveillance and called for 10–20 years of follow‑up before general use; and Dr. Ryan Cole, a pathologist, said regulators had failed to police product quality. Several witnesses described reported injuries, including myocarditis, neurological injuries and deaths they believe were linked to the products.

Opposing testimony included emergency physician Jessica Evans Wall, who said the mRNA platform had reduced COVID‑19 deaths and urged caution about restricting technologies that could save lives in future outbreaks: "This pandemic was not a one‑off event. We will have another viral pandemic," she said. Dr. David Pate, a board‑certified internist and former health system CEO, told the committee the bill’s breadth could have unintended consequences for pandemic preparedness and urged trust in patient‑clinician risk‑benefit decision making.

Several researchers and scientists also testified about practical impacts on Idaho research capacity. Dr. Haley Bridgewater, a vaccine researcher at Boise State University, said her laboratory uses plasmids and ex vivo genetically modified cells as preclinical safety checks and said a moratorium could prevent those local safety evaluations. Other witnesses representing research or industry backgrounds explained how gene‑delivery methods are used in legitimate therapeutic and research contexts and warned that a broad moratorium could hinder ongoing work.

Committee action and next steps: the hearing was informational only. Sponsor Shippey told the committee he believes changes are needed and indicated the bill is not ready for a committee vote today. No formal committee vote on SB 10‑36 occurred during the session.

The hearing record will go forward to the committee files; members asked for additional technical materials and said they would consider possible amendments at a later date.