[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 12961-12962]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                           STEM CELL RESEARCH

  (Mr. EVANS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. EVANS. Mr. Speaker, there should really be no debate about stem 
cell research, given the immense promise that it holds for a number of 
diseases. This is an issue that is of paramount importance to millions 
of Americans who stand to benefit from this groundbreaking research. I 
know, because I am one of them. I suffer from Parkinson's disease.
  This debate is being mired down in the politics of abortion, but it 
has nothing to do with abortion. This is an issue of medicine. Stem 
cells are never derived from an embryo that a woman intends to be 
implanted into her womb, nor are embryos ever created for their

[[Page 12962]]

use in stem cell research. Researchers only use embryos which were 
scheduled to be discarded.
  Clearly, these embryos can be put to better use. The scientific 
promise of embryonic stem cells offer hope that simply did not exist a 
few years ago. We cannot afford to literally throw away such potential. 
Every day that we continue research brings with it astonishing 
possibilities for enhanced treatments and cures for now-irreversible 
diseases and injuries.
  Let us come together as a body in support of stem cell research.

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