mr. speaker , i have been a physician for 41 years ; and like my good colleagues who will not be supporting this bill , i would expect we could tell the members stories of all the blood and gore and problems that we have waded through in those years and done our very best . 
i also consider myself a guy who is pretty much pro-life . 
this bill is not cloning . 
it is not somatic cell nuclear transfer . 
it is sound science . 
for those who have an ethical problem with the bill , i accept the fact that they have that problem and hope that at some point in the future we can sit down and discuss this issue . 
but for now they will have their position ; i will have mine . 
stem cell research , especially embryonic stem cell research , is going to go on apace very rapidly in all parts of the world , whether it is singapore or korea or japan or china or the united kingdom or canada , other places on continental europe . 
we are being left behind in this . 
we have the finest universities in the world , the finest researchers , the ability to bring stem cell research to a point where we will , indeed , have cures for everyday problems such as diabetes , such as parkinson 's , such as alzheimer 's , and perhaps even being able to create neuronal cells to take care of people who have spinal cord injuries . 
science will march on . 
i believe this bill helps the living . 
can there be any doubt that the potential of relieving widespread suffering with embryonic stem cells is morally superior to simply destroying the excess embryos ? 
how can we call ourselves a culture of life when we ignore the living , when we ignore the infinite potential of embryonic stem cells ? 
