mr. speaker , critics of embryonic stem cell research maintain that it is wrong to promote science which destroys life in order to save life . 
as the leading prolife legislator in washington , senator orrin hatch put it , since when does human life begin in a petri dish in a refrigerator ? 
to reduce this issue to an abortion issue is a horrible injustice to 100 million americans suffering the ravages of diabetes , spinal cord paralysis , heart disease , parkinson 's and alzheimer 's disease , cancer , ms , lou gehrig 's disease and other fatal and debilitating diseases . 
i met with researchers from four of the main stem cell institutes in america . 
as one prominent researcher told me , and i am quoting , `` the real irony of the president 's policy is that at least 100 , 000 surplus frozen embryos could be used to produce stem cells for research to save lives . 
but instead , these surplus embryos are being thrown into the garbage and treated as medical waste , thrown into the garbage and treated as medical waste. '' only 22 of the 78 stem cell lines approved by the president remain today . 
as another leading researcher said , `` this limit on research has stunted progress on finding cures for a number of fatal and debilitating diseases. '' mr. speaker , it is too late for my beloved mother who was totally debilitated by alzheimer 's disease which killed her . 
it is too late for my cousin who died a tragic , cruel death from juvenile diabetes while still in his 20s ; but it is not too late for the 100 million other american people counting on us to support funding for life-saving research on embryonic stem cells . 
let us not turn our backs on these people . 
let us not take away their hope . 
let us listen to respected pro-life colleagues and friends like orrin hatch , former senator connie mack , former health and human services secretary tommy thompson when they tell us this is not an abortion issue . 
we should support embryonic stem cell research . 
mr. speaker , critics of embryonic stem cell research maintain it is wrong to `` promote science which destroys life in order to save life. '' as the leading pro-life legislator in washington , sen . 
orrin hatch put it , `` since when does human life begin in a petri dish in a refrigerator ? 
`` to reduce this issue to an abortion issue is a horrible injustice to 100 million americans suffering the ravages of diabetes , spinal cord paralysis , heart disease , parkinson 's and alzheimer 's disease , cancer , multiple sclerosis , lou gehrig 's disease and other fatal , debilitating diseases . 
i have met with medical researchers from the university of minnesota stem cell institute , the mayo clinic , the national institutes of health and johns hopkins university . 
as one prominent researcher told me , `` the real irony of the president 's policy is that at least 100 , 000 surplus frozen embryos could be used to produce stem cells for research to save lives . 
instead , these surplus embryos are being thrown into the garbage and treated as medical waste. '' only 22 of the 78 stem cell lines approved by the president in 2001 remain today . 
as another leading medical researcher said , `` this limit on research has stunted progress on finding cures for a number of debilitating and fatal diseases. '' mr. speaker , the scientific evidence is overwhelming that embryonic stem cells have great potential to regenerate specific types of human tissues , offering hope for millions of americans suffering from debilitating diseases . 
mr. speaker , it 's too late for my beloved mother who was totally debilitated by alzheimer 's disease which led to her death . 
it 's too late for my cousin who died a cruel , tragic death from diabetes in his 20 's . 
but it 's not too late for 100 million other american people counting on us to support funding for life-saving research on stem cells derived from donated surplus embryos created through in vitro fertilization . 
let 's not turn our backs on these people . 
let 's not take away their hope . 
let 's listen to respected pro-life colleagues and friends like senator orrin hatch , former senator connie mack and former hhs secretary tommy thompson when they tell us this is not an abortion issue . 
let 's make it clear that abortion politics should not determine this critical vote . 
embryonic stem cell research will prolong life , improve life and give hope for life to millions of people . 
i urge members to support funding for life-saving and life-enhancing embryonic stem cell research . 
the american people deserve nothing less . 
