mr. speaker , i rise today in opposition to h.r. 810 , but in strong support of adult stem cell research as it respects life .  an embryo is a human at its earliest stage of life and deserves the same respect that we give infants , adolescents and adults .  during this debate , some would attempt to justify embryonic stem cell research on the basis that we are dealing with something other than real human beings .  we use the words stem cell , but we could also use the words nathan and noah .  these are justifications based on definitions of life that are purely arbitrary .  indeed , a human at the embryonic stage may look a little different than a human at the adult stage , but that does not make the embryo any less a human .  the embryo possesses the genetic identity as it will as an adult .  it is merely at an earlier stage in life .  just as we find it unconscionable and unethical to exploit human life in the name of science during the latter stages of life , neither should we accept the exploitation of human life at its earliest stages .  instead , we should focus our resources on supporting medical research such as cord blood and adult stem cell research that respect human lives and have an actual track record of creating cures .  vote against h.r. 810 .  