mr. speaker , this issue is more than facts and figures .  for me it is personal .  it is about my children , madison , jeb and ross barrett .  it is about my nieces and my nephews , hayden and english and jason and andrew .  they are not just names , they are living , breathing human beings .  they are people i care about , they are people i love .  it is my family .  and they began life as an embryo .  let us be clear , embryonic stem cell research is completely legal .  what we are talking about today is whether taxpayer dollars should be used to destroy potential life , and , for me , life must supersede all other considerations , especially for the purpose of medical experimentation .  life is so precious , mr. speaker , and as long as i am a united states congressman , i will do everything i can to protect it .  