mr. speaker , i thank both gentlemen for yielding me this time . 
the debate over embryonic stem cell research is important because there are no more important issues that we deal with in this chamber than when we debate life and death . 
mr. speaker , as i stand here in this chamber today , i am a human being . 
i am a man , an adult man . 
sometime before i was a man , i was a teenager . 
before that i was a child . 
and sometime before i was a child , i was a toddler . 
and before i was a toddler , i was an infant . 
and sometime before i was an infant , i was a fetus . 
and sometime before i was a fetus , i was an embryo . 
i did not look like i do today , but it was me . 
that embryo was me . 
at some point in our history , every single person here was also an embryo . 
the gentleman from texas ( mr. delay ) xz4001040 , you were an embryo once . 
the other gentleman from texas ( mr. barton ) xz4000180 , the chairman of the committee ; yes , sir , you too were an embryo once . 
the gentleman from delaware , the sponsor of this bill , you were an embryo once . 
the gentlewoman from colorado , you too were an embryo once . 
the gentleman from michigan , you were an embryo once . 
now , we did not look like we do today , but it did not mean it was not you . 
a human embryo is a member of the human family . 
it has its own unique dna . 
it is its own human entity . 
it is unique . 
it is irreplaceable , and it is a member of the species homo sapiens . 
it is not just a bit of tissue . 
it is not just , as some have suggested , a couple of cells in a petri dish . 
it is human and it is alive . 
it might not look like you or me , but there was a time when you and i looked exactly like that embryo . 
today , we are debating embryonic stem cell research , a type of stem cell research in which a tiny member of the human family must die . 
that is not just my opinion ; that is a scientific fact . 
the gentlewoman from colorado would suggest that under this legislation federal funds would not be used to destroy human life . 
that is simply false . 
those who conduct human embryonic stem cell research must destroy human life to do so . 
you can not conduct embryonic stem cell research without destroying human life , and that is wrong . 
and it is certainly wrong to fund this unethical embryonic stem cell research using taxpayer money . 
and that is precisely what this legislation would do . 
it would use taxpayer money to fund research which destroys human life . 
i urge a `` no '' vote . 
