Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007

STEM CELL RESEARCH ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2007

* Mr. KING of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, it's unethical to end one life in pursuit of helpIng others.

* I am for stem-cell research. I am for scientifically sound, ethical, adult stem-cell research.

* The failure of embryonic stem-cell experiments has dried up private research dollars. Consequently, proponents have no alternative but to pressure Congress for funding.

* Today, the House of Representatives passed legislation that requires taxpayers to fund science that ends innocent human lives for the questionable potential of improving the lives of others.

* This legislation would divert resources from truly promising treatments in favor of controversial research whose benefits remain speculative.

* To conduct scientific research of this type, thousands of embryos, persons at the beginning of life, must be killed. The debate is about the inherent value of human life at its earliest stage. Supporters of embryonic stem-cell research will not take a position on when life begins. They know that if they do, they cannot sustain their argument.

* Moral arguments aside, it is a fact that other forms of stem-cell research are resulting in treatments for people who suffer from debilitating diseases. Adult stem cells, which are extracted from umbilical-cord blood, placenta,

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bone marrow, nasal mucosa, hair follicles and fact cells, are today successfully used in treating real people who suffer from at least 72 specific diseases. Successes include, among the 72 diseases, Parkinson's Disease, Crohn's Disease, diabetes, spinal-cord injury, strokes, arthritis and numerous cancers, including breast, brain and leukemia.

* Conversely, proponents cannot name a single person with improved health due to embryonic stem-cell research. Embryonic stem cells may never produce a safe and effective treatment for any disease. The political hype declaring them a cure-all today cannot be sustained by the facts. If successful, however, the necessary next step must be to clone the cells. It is logistically impossible to provide enough embryonic stem cells without human cloning.

* Another falsehood is the excuse that the embryos would otherwise be thrown away. None of the embryos were created for research. Every embryo was created for the sole purpose of giving parenthood to those who yearn for it. Over 90 percent of frozen embryos are now stored by their parents, who hope to have more children or to provide for embryo adoption to other couples. At least 500,000 couples are on waiting lists to adopt children. For each available embryo, 45 couples wait in line to adopt that child.

* So far, more than 80 formerly frozen embryos have been adopted by families. Now these ``snowflake babies' are giggle, screaming, playful children. It is a glorious miracle for couples who imagined they would never experience parenthood, much less pregnancy and childbirth. These ``snowflakes,' some of whom were frozen for 9 years, are as worthy of our protection as every child. They are not medical waste.

* Proponents of this research say they cannot look a paraplegic in the eye and say, ``We can't experiment on frozen embryos.' I ask them, can you hold the ``snowflake babies' in your arms and look their moms and dads in the eye and tell them, ``I wish we had experimented on your children before they learn to walk, to talk, to love, to laugh and play?'

* The American medical community has many times refused the results of critical research because the findings were achieved unethically. International standards for Permissible Medical Experiments are clear. The subject must be a volunteer, there must be no alternative, results of animal experimentation must have been proven successful, they subject must be able to voluntarily end the experiment, there must be no possibility of injury, disability, or death, and the promise must outweigh the risk.

* Embryonic stem-cell research violates each of these principles. Principles for Permissible Medical Experiments may be found in the military tribunals under Control Council Law No. 10, October, 1946, Nuremberg.

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