Andre Carson: “I wish to express my strong, principled and hopeful support of H.R. 810. I commend the vital leadership of my brave…”

“I wish to express my strong, principled and hopeful support of H.R. 810. I commend the vital leadership of my brave colleagues, Representatives Castle and DeGette, for bringing this urgent issue to the floor. Federal funding for embryonic stem cell research is needed to help American scientists move this research forward, research which has the potential to revolutionize medicine and save countless lives. While adult stem cells have been very useful in treating some cancers, embryonic stem cells appear to have a far greater potential for treating disease than adult stem cells. Scientists regard embryonic stem cell research as one of the greatest hopes for the cure of medical conditions such as Parkinson's disease and diabetes due to their unique ability to develop into virtually any type of cell in the body. Recently, researchers at the University of Miami came up with a technique to transform embryonic stem cells into the insulin-producing cells destroyed by Type-l diabetes. Such research may also help us better understand the causes of birth defects, genetic abnormalities, and other conditions that arise during the critical period of early human growth. Other possible medical applications include the repair of crippling injuries such as spinal cord damage and the ability to correct the damaging side effects of existing medical treatments like chemotherapy. This debate is not about whether or not embryonic stem cell research will progress, for it surely will.…”