Indiana lawmakers back defunding Kinsey sex institute

By TOM DAVIES
Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana Republican lawmakers have voted to prohibit Indiana University from using any state money to support its sexual research institution after a far-right legislator unleashed disputed allegations of child exploitation by the famed mid-20th century researcher Alfred Kinsey. The Indiana House voted 53-34 Wednesday to block state funding toward the Kinsey Institute that has long faced criticism from conservatives. Alfred Kinsey produced groundbreaking sex-behavior studies in 1948 and 1953. Republican Rep. Lorissa Sweet sought the funding ban, claiming some of Kinsey’s research was child exploitation. Democratic Rep. Matt Pierce, whose Bloomington district includes the university campus, called Sweet’s claims “old unproven allegations of conspiracies.”