Political Quotes

“I rise in support of H.R. 810, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, to put science and compassion ahead of ideology and fear. The promise of embryonic stem cells is that they alone have the potential to develop into any kind of body tissue, including blood, brain, muscle, organ, or nerve tissue. Scientists believe that this unique ability might lead to breakthroughs in a number of illnesses that are now untreatable. Over 100 million Americans suffer from diseases and conditions that may one day be treated using stem cell therapies, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, juvenile diabetes, Lou Gehrig's disease, severe bums, and spinal cord injuries. For the very reason that we do not yet know what kind of treatments stem cell research will yield, it would be unwise not to explore the possibilities. As one researcher at Harvard Medical School and Boston's Children's Hospital recently wrote in the New England Journal of Medicine, ``the science of human embryonic stem cells is in its infancy.'' Restricting stem cell research now ``threaten[s] to starve the field at a critical stage.'' It's critical to understand the science of stem cell research to weigh the moral and ethical issues involved. This bill allows funding of research on stem cells that are harnessed from fertility clinics. In vitro fertilization is a technology that has allowed millions of couples to share in the joy of childbirth.…”