Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007

STEM CELL RESEARCH ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2007 -- (House of Representatives - January 11, 2007)

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Mr. FORTENBERRY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin with a story. Several weeks ago, I was reading some of our national publications, and I came across a very small article that reported how Swiss scientists were taking amniotic fluid from preborn children, children who had been diagnosed in the womb with heart disease, and they were taking adult stem cells from that amniotic fluid and beginning the process of growing heart valves that would inevitably be placed in those children because of that heart disease.

Mr. Speaker, my spirits lifted. I had hope again. You see, my daughter Kathryn is 6 years old and she suffers from complete atrial ventricular septal defect, a severe form of heart disease. She has had three open-heart surgeries thus far. We are probably looking at a fourth in the coming months, and in that surgery it is likely she will need a mechanical valve which further complicates her difficulties. This is why this article was so meaningful to me.

You see, adult stem cells from bone marrow sources and umbilical cord sources and now amniotic fluid are showing real therapeutic value in the treatment of 72 diseases currently, and this avoids the ethically divisive issue of the destruction of unborn human life, the destruction of unborn human embryos.

Embryonic stem cell research has shown no therapeutic value to date, is highly controversial, and many taxpayers do not wish to have their money spent here. So, Mr. Speaker, I say, why not? Why not invest our limited resources in adult stem cell research that is showing great promise and giving real hope? This is good public policy. This is the right thing to do.

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