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 )  , you were an embryo once .  the other gentleman from texas ( mr. barton )  , 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 .  