mr. speaker , i have a profound deep and abiding belief in the right to life . 
i have introduced a constitutional amendment to ban abortions every session of congress since 1997 and have a perfect pro-life voting record . 
two years ago i visited the bader peach orchard in campbell . 
i met the baders ' son , cody , after my tour . 
cody is a handsome and articulate young man who happens to live in a wheelchair because of a car accident . 
cody asked that i rethink my opposition to embryonic stem cell research because he thought that one day if it did not help him , it might just help another young person like him . 
i later wrote a note to cody 's family telling them that even after hearing his story , i could not do as he asked . 
and i have regretted writing that letter ever since . 
my friends joel and dana wood have a son james , who was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy when dana was 9 months pregnant . 
james may never see his 21st birthday , and this is just heartbreaking . 
my late husband , bill emerson , and his mother , marie , who passed away last night , both suffered from diseases for which stem cell research holds much hope : cancer and dementia . 
embryonic stem cells are the only avenue for research we know of now that can possibly help alleviate those two diseases . 
neither adult stem cells nor cord blood are plausible for the study or treatment of brain tissue . 
i have met with ethicists , scientists , two priests , and my own minister to talk about this agonizing decision . 
but when presented with an embryo , an embryo that can not live outside a uterus , an embryo that is going to sadly be thrown out as medical waste , and the lives of little james wood and young cody , i ask do they not have as much of a right to life as that embryo that is going to be tossed away ? 
i had dinner last thursday night with my daughter and her friend , will coffman . 
will 's story is much like cody 's . 
we talked and talked about this issue . 
and will said to me , we may never know how the story will end , but please do not let the story end right now . 
mr. speaker , my pro-life credentials are unquestioned . 
who can say that prolonging a life is not pro-life ? 
technology and faith continue to present agonizing decisions and conflicts . 
each life is precious , and so i must follow my heart on this and cast a vote in favor of h.r. 810 . 
