Steve Chabot: “as we debate this proposal, we cannot ignore the fact that every human life begins as a human embryo. Sadly, passage of…”

“as we debate this proposal, we cannot ignore the fact that every human life begins as a human embryo. Sadly, passage of this bill will put the government and taxpayers in the position of sanctioning and funding the destruction of that human life. Now, we all feel strongly about the need for aggressive and advanced research to cure and combat the myriad of diseases that prematurely take the lives of our friends and our family members and our fellow citizens. When we lost my father to cancer, our family certainly wished that medical breakthroughs had come sooner. That is why I am so supportive of the rapid progress being made in the fields of adult and umbilical cord stem cell research. Cord blood stem cells have already been used to treat patients, we have been hearing, for up to 67 diseases, and it is my understanding they have the potential to become any kind of cell, similar to what embryonic stem cells do. While I recognize that many proponents of this bill offer their support with good intentions, in this case we do have clear alternatives, and I would strongly urge my colleagues to support adult and umbilical and reject this bill. Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, I would yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Fortenberry).”