Thomas Mott Osborne: “Thank you, Mr. Bartlett. I appreciate your expertise, your knowledge in this area. And my remarks will be relatively…”

“Thank you, Mr. Bartlett. I appreciate your expertise, your knowledge in this area. And my remarks will be relatively brief because you are the one that truly understands your bill and understands the research much better than I. But I would say, Mr. Speaker, that nearly all of us have been impacted, either directly or indirectly, by diseases like juvenile diabetes, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, Lou Gehrig's disease and spinal injuries. And there has been a great clamor over the last 7 years, since embryonic stem cells have been recognized as a possible source of cures for these diseases, that there should be public funding of embryonic stem cell research. The ethical dilemma, obviously, for those of us who are prolife, who believe in the sanctity of life, is that we would like to see research occur that is helpful, but we don't really want to see human embryos destroyed in the process. And I think that is what brings Mr. Bartlett and I to the floor together this afternoon, our common interest in some research of this type, but an aversion to the destruction of human embryos. And so I really applaud him for what he has done and for his bill and just make a few comments. I think the ethical dilemma really revolves around when does life begin. And for some people it is at 9 months. For some it is at birth. For some it is at 3 months, 6 months. But for a great many of us, it is at conception.…”