mr. speaker , this issue is more than facts and figures . 
for me it is personal . 
it is about my children , madison , jeb and ross barrett . 
it is about my nieces and my nephews , hayden and english and jason and andrew . 
they are not just names , they are living , breathing human beings . 
they are people i care about , they are people i love . 
it is my family . 
and they began life as an embryo . 
let us be clear , embryonic stem cell research is completely legal . 
what we are talking about today is whether taxpayer dollars should be used to destroy potential life , and , for me , life must supersede all other considerations , especially for the purpose of medical experimentation . 
life is so precious , mr. speaker , and as long as i am a united states congressman , i will do everything i can to protect it . 
