Sam Brownback: “I want to give two numbers to my colleagues: 613 and zero--$613 million spent on embryonic stem cell research since 2002…”

“I want to give two numbers to my colleagues: 613 and zero--$613 million spent on embryonic stem cell research since 2002 and the number of human treatments we have to show for it, which is zero, 613 to zero. I think those are two important numbers to remember when what we are after is cures, and we have cures to show. We have cures that are working, and we can take the next $613 million and invest it in places that are getting cures, such as adult stem cells, cord blood, and amniotic fluid. Do we want to spend another $613 million and use Federal taxpayer dollars to destroy young human life in the process--an ethical boundary we have not thought wise to cross before? Do we want to cross that boundary and spend more money and still not get results, when we have a proven route we can take? I urge my colleagues to reject and vote against S. 5 on two grounds. No. 1, ethical grounds. Embryonic stem cell research, even if presented in supposedly ethical terms, remains unethical, with the destruction of human life. No. 2, practical grounds. We don't have an infinite budget, and in the stem cell field, we need to put our money into areas where we are getting real results--the adult field--and not divert them to the speculative embryonic stem cell field.”