mr. speaker , on the birthday of my daughter , katy , who was born 8-10 weeks prematurely , but still lives and blesses my life . 
there are so many well-meaning people who want to see others cured . 
we , everyone of us in this body , want that . 
we know that . 
it is being said that no one will be harmed by the use or destruction of human embryos that were going to be waste anyway . 
dear friends , when you use the product of the callous mistreatment of life , even though you use sterilized gloves , you nonetheless are an accomplice after the fact in encouraging future such destruction and mistreatment -- even though you have the very very best of intentions . 
how many times as a judge have i heard , `` but , i never meant to hurt anyone . 
i thought i was just helping. '' in the recent past , we lost a great american who had been injured in an accident and who encouraged the use of embryonic stem cells . 
that man had a heart as big as all outdoors and is an inspiration to so very many of us . 
his strength and courage and perseverance in the face of unsurmountable odds should be an encouragement for all who face adversity . 
he is quoted as saying something that others have said , but as a justification for embryonic stem cell usage -- basically that we should be about doing the greatest good for the greatest number of people . 
that is the utilitarian way . 
it is worth noting that if a society only did what was the greatest good for the greatest number of people , that society would kill off the elderly who were no longer productive and kill off the young who were not likely to ever be very productive . 
that would also be a society that did not spend time trying to fix something that had been extremely broken . 
that is a society that would simply weigh the cost to repair a human , decide that such person was `` totaled '' then clone a new one to replace it . 
that society would be killing its very soul . 
that is not the american way . 
we want to be a help to the helpless , and speak for those who ca n't speak . 
a moral society should do that . 
to demand money from american taxpayers so that we as a congress can encourage the destructive use of life under the guise that it may be thrown away anyway , is not a direction that this america should go . 
our history has been that , rather than destroying life , we go to all kinds of extremes to save it . 
if a child is in a deep hole , america sends all the resources it has to try to save it regardless of cost . 
when someone may not return from a trip to the moon , we use every available resource to try to bring them home . 
when a soldier is captured or out on the battlefield wounded , many others often risk their lives to save the one . 
that has been , that should be our legacy . 
it is a bit offensive that some would come forward and assert that we are telling individuals with lou gehrigs disease and other terribly debilitating diseases that we will not look for a cure -- that we basically do not care . 
we are looking for cures and we are doing so with the most promising avenues available and that is with stem cells that do not destroy life . 
it is extremely offensive that some would come forward and say basically that in the name of religion , christian and jewish groups support the federal government 's certain destruction of embryos under the possibility that at some point it somehow may lead to possibly saving a life or lives . 
if we are going to invoke the thought of , as our forefathers ' put it , our creator , then let 's at least invoke our creator 's unwavering honesty . 
the truth is that this bill is not determining whether embryonic stem cell research will go on . 
if it is so incredibly and amazingly promising , do you know who would be all over this ? 
private pharmaceutical and health care industries would be in pursuit knowing that if they find a cure , they will be the most profitable company on the face of the earth . 
but it is not private investment capital that is being sought . 
it is people wanting grants that will be torn from the pockets of taxpayers against the will of perhaps half of them or more ( polling data from those with an agenda is not all that trustworthy ) and putting it into someone else 's pocket in the name of destroying embryos . 
embryonic stem cell research can go on and has gone on with billions of dollars from some states and from some private money . 
what many of us are saying about this legislation is , if it is so promising , you go raise the capital privately by buying stock to use in embryonic stem cell research , and let our tax dollars go to the stem cell research that seeks to both save and make lives better . 
i know this is a matter of conscience , and i do so know and believe in the integrity and great intentions of many of those who disagree , but please do not take my tax dollars for money to destroy life . 
let those who feel so compelled , spend your own , but i would hope even then you would spend your own money on the lines with the most promise and not take life in the name of helping life . 
may god not only bless , but have mercy on us all . 
