By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

CLAIMS made in the House of Assembly yesterday by FNM Opposition leader Dr Hubert Minnis were quickly shot down as false by several PLP MPs yesterday.

While making his contribution to the new stem cell and research therapy bill, Dr Minnis claimed that an international magazine had labelled the Bahamas a “rogue state which issues snake medicine.”

Dr Minnis suggested that the arguments were recently lodged. But on the urging of seated PLP parliamentarians, the magazine was tabled. It was later discovered that the claims of which he spoke were made in 1999 almost 14 years ago, under a former FNM administration, and quoted in a Good Housekeeping magazine published last year.

“In fact,” said Dr Minnis, “in this magazine, which I will table, the Bahamas individuals are complaining, one particular individual had paid as high as $25,000 for stem cell therapy within the Bahamas.

“Not only that, it was said that the Bahamas is being compared with rogue states issuing what they call snake medicine.

“I want to make it clear that some of this occurred when they were in office.”

Standing on a point of order Elizabeth MP Ryan Pinder refuted the claims saying that it was the FNM that had caused the Bahamas to be branded negatively.

“The member for Killarney is being quite disingenuous. It was under their administration that obviously this reputation has developed and it is under our administration that we are putting in a legislative framework to Parliament and to the country to cause for this to be properly regulated, monitored and advanced,” Mr Pinder said.

Later, while holding up and pointing to the magazine article, Bain and Grants Town MP Dr Bernard Nottage said that there was only one reference made to the Bahamas which highlighted a $25,000 payment.

“This is embarrassing,” several seated FNMs were heard saying.

Dr Minnis told MPs that if the government chose to continue with the Bill, he would not support it.

“Does this mean that The Bahamas ought to become involved in this advanced scientific work? I am not convinced. I do not believe that we are yet in a position to adequately police this research and to ensure the maintenance of international standards. Hence, I do not believe that The Bahamas should become involved in stem cell research at this time.

“I ask the government, if they truly believe in this Bahamas, to not embark on this ill-advised adventure into stem cell research?

“We can too easily suffer a severe response, be blacklisted, be targeted by unscrupulous business and medical personnel who only seek to enrich themselves taking advantage of our lack of experience, lack of capacity to provide proper monitoring and evaluation and more importantly, the inability to stringently enforce the laws of the land,” Dr Minnis said.