[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12961]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                     STEM CELL RESEARCH IS PRO-LIFE

  (Ms. HARMAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. HARMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge strong support in 
Congress and the administration for a vital field of medical research. 
Federal funding for embryonic stem cell research should not be caught 
up in the abortion debate. As many antichoice proponents have 
courageously noted, stem cell research is pro-life. It will save lives, 
not take them.
  Let me review what we know about stem cell research.
  First, research using embryonic stem cells is helping us understand 
and treat not just Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injuries, and 
Alzheimer's, but possibly heart disease, arthritis and cancer.
  Second, stem cell research is going on today and should be subject to 
Federal guidelines. Research of the type described in the lead story in 
today's Washington Post is not permitted under NIH's ethical standards.
  Third, adult stem cells are not able to develop into as many kinds of 
tissue as embryonic cells.
  Fourth, the embryos used in stem cell research would otherwise be 
destroyed by fertility clinics.
  Mr. Speaker, if the embryos used in this research are simply 
discarded, we discard with them the hope of patients across the country 
and the promise of a new generation of medical cures.

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