Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007
STEM CELL RESEARCH ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2007 -- (House of Representatives - January 11, 2007)
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Mr. WICKER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding the time.
Mr. Speaker, this has been a very difficult issue for me for quite some time and I think for many of my colleagues also. It involves deeply held convictions by conscientious people of good faith, by some of my closest friends, on both sides of this question.
So I would like to begin with some things we can all agree upon. Principles about which there is no real debate today.
First of all, this bill is not about the legality or illegality of embryonic research. Surprisingly, I have had constituents say to me that they weren't asking for Federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, only that it be legal. This represents a misunderstanding of existing law.
So let us be clear at the outset. Embryonic stem cell research is legal today, has always been legal, and few people are suggesting that it be otherwise.
Secondly, there is currently a great deal of embryonic research going on today. Over the past 6 years, under the Bush guidelines, more than $130 million has been devoted to human embryonic stem cell research. Such research is also being conducted by State governments to the tune of $140 million. I happen to believe that this type of research is ethically troubling, but for my colleagues who feel otherwise, let us at least acknowledge that a lot of embryonic research is being done under current law.
Next, I think we can all agree that the Federal Government alone cannot possibly fund all the medical and scientific research we would want. The annual appropriation for the NIH is $28 billion. But even if that figure were to be doubled or even tripled this year, we couldn't afford all the potential research that is out there.
It is our job as Federal legislators to pick and choose. We have to allocate scarce resources, and we can't do it all.
Which brings us to the real philosophical difference in the debate today. For me and many of my fellow Americans, the destruction of a human embryo involves profound ethical and moral questions. This is a matter of conscience for millions of taxpayers who are deeply troubled by the idea of their tax dollars being used to destroy another human life.
We have been told by proponents of this bill that all they want to do is use embryos from fertility clinics which would otherwise be thrown away. I do not believe it will end there. After a period of time with no progress, we will be asked to approve and fund therapeutic human cloning, the creation of a human life for the express purpose of destroying that embryo for research purposes. This is the very real slippery slope upon which we are perched. Indeed, many proponents of this bill have voted against legislation to prohibit human cloning.
So, Mr. Speaker, given the admitted ethical problems involved in destroying human embryos, given the lack of any results so far from embryonic research and the proven cures and accomplishments from adult stem cells, given the great potential of germ cells, cord blood cells and amniotic stem cell research without the ethical drawbacks, and given the limited Federal resources and the fact that we can't fund everything, shouldn't we concentrate Federal dollars on research that does not involve the destruction of human embryos?
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