https://www.c-span.org/video/?187996-2/house-session&event=187996&playEvent&show=0
BARTLETT: MR. SPEAKER, I WAS IN MY OFFICE LAST EVENING ABOUT 11:00, AS WAS ALL THE REST OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES WAITING FOR A RESOLUTION OF SOME OF THE CONCERNS ON THE TRANSPORTATION BILL SO THAT WE COULD VOTE ON IT, WHEN WE WERE LOOKING AT THE DRUDGE REPORT ON OUR SCREEN AND WE SAW THERE A HEADLINE THAT I COULD HARDLY BELIEVE.
THAT SENATOR FRIST HAD REVERSED HIS POSITION ON EMBRYONIC SELLS -- STEM CELLS. WAS NOW ADVOCATING THE PASSAGE OF THE SENATE VERSION OF H.R. 810. I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE TODAY WITH STEM CELLS, EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS BEING SO MUCH IN THE NEWS IF WE COULD SPEND A FEW MINUTES LOOKING AT WHAT STEM CELLS ARE AND WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT.
WHAT WAS SENATOR FRIST TALKING ABOUT AND WHAT IS THE ISSUE HERE?
I HAVE HERE ON THE EASEL A CHART THAT SHOWS THE DEVELOPMENT, NOT ALL OF THE STAGES, BUT IT SHOWS THE DEVELOPMENT THE HUMAN EMBRYO.
IT STARTS WITH A ZYGOTE. THE ZYGOTE IS THE FERTILIZED EGG THAT NOW HAS CHROMOSOMES, GENES FROM THE SPERM AND GENES FROM THE EGG, HAVING WHAT WE CALL THE DIPLOID NUMBER OF CHROMOSOMES.
THAT DEVELOPS THROUGH SEVERAL STAGES, THROUGH THE BLASTOCYST STAGE AND TO THE GASTRULA STAGE. BY THE TIME YOU GET TO THE GAST LA -- GAST RUE LA STAGE, THE EMBRYO HAS DEVELOPED INTO A LARGE NUMBER OF CELLS.
AND WHAT'S SHOWN HERE IS THE EMBRYO AND THE PART OF THE WALL OF THE UTERUS TO WHICH IT IS ATTACHED.
BY THIS STAGE IN ITS DEVELOPMENT, THE EMBRYO HAS ALREADY NOW DEVELOPED FOUR VERY SPECIFIC STEM CELLS THAT WILL GO ON TO PRODUCE A VARIETY OF TISSUES AND ORGANS IN THE BODY, ALL OF THE TISSUES AND THE ORGANS IN THE BODY.
WE SEE THOSE DOWN HERE AT THE BOTTOM. SOME OF THEM DEVELOPMENT INTO ECTODERM THE EXTERNAL LAYER.
THE ECTODERM BECOMES TWO THINGS IN THE DEVELOPING BABY AND THE ADULT.
IT BECOMES THE SKIN AND THE NERVOUS SYSTEM AND SOME OF THE PIGMENT CELLS.
MOST OF WHAT WE ARE IN TERMS OF MASS IS ALL DEVELOPED FROM THE MIDDLE LAYER OR FROM THE MESODERM, FROM THAT DEVELOPS ALL OF YOUR SKELETAL MUSCLE, ALL OF YOUR BONES, ALL OF YOUR HEART MUSCLE. THE RED BLOOD CELLS, THE SMOOTH MUSCLE IN YOUR SBESTENS AND STOMACH SBSHSBEST -- AND YOUR INTES TIRKS NES.
THE ENTODERM IS THE LINING OF THE LUNG, THE THYROID GLAND, PANCREATIC CELLS, NOWHERE NEAR THE PASS PRODUCED BY THE MESODERM, BUT VERY IMPORTANT TISSUES NEVERTHELESS. THERE ARE SOME VERY UNIQUE CELLS DIFFERENT IN THE MALE AND THE FEMALE. THE GERM CELLS.
IN THE MALE THEY PRODUCE THE SPERM AND IN THE FEMALE THEY PRODUCE THE EGG.
SOME OF THESE STEM CELLS PERSIST EVEN INTO THE ADULT. IN THE BONE MARROW OF EVERY ADULT ARE STEM CELLS WHICH WILL PRODUCE YOUR RED BLOOD CELLS AND SOME OF YOUR WHITE BLOOD CELLS, WILL PRODUCE THOSE CELLS IN CLOTTING, THE THROMBOCYTE.
THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF RESEARCH FOR MORE THAN THREE DECADES NOW ON USING THESE STEM CELLS TO SEE IF WE CAN'T CURE -- HELP PATIENTS WITH A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT DISEASES. THERE HAVE BEEN A NUMBER OF GOOD APPLICATIONS OF ADULT STEM CELLS.
THEY HAVE PRODUCED IN SOME CATIONS WHAT LOOKS LIKE ACTUAL CURES. BUT THESE ZULT STEM CELLS ARE LIMITED IN THEIR -- BUT THESE ADULT STEM CELLS ARE LIMBED IN THEIR CAPABILITY.
THEY ARE DIFFERENTIATED. THEY HAVE SPLIT AND ARE NOW DESTENED TO PRODUCE ONLY CERTAIN KINDS OF CELLS.
WHAT THE RESEARCHER TRIES TO DO AT TIMES IS TO TAKE THESE ADULT STEM CELLS AND PUT THEM IN AN ENVIRONMENT THAT CONVINCES THEM THEY ARE NOT AN ADULT STELL -- STEM CELL BUT BACK TO AN EMBRYONIC STEM CELL.
THE ULTIMATE EMBRYONIC STEM CELL IS THE ZYGOTE, ONE CELL WHICH WILL DIVIDE AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN AND DIFFERENTIATE AND FINALLY PRODUCE ALL OF THE CELLS OF THE BODY.
BUT HERE IN THE BLASTULA STAGE THE CELLS ARE DIFFERENTIATED IN TWO CATEGORIES. THOSE CELLS THAT WILL PRODUCE THE EMBRYO SHOWN HERE IN THE INNER CELL MASS AND THOSE CELLS WHICH WILL PRODUCE THE DECIDUA, THE CELLS AROUND THIS WHICH WILL BECOME AMNION AND CORION, PARTS OF THE PLACENTA. IN THE STAGE JUST BEFORE THIS ARE THE CELLS THAT CAN PRODUCE THE FULL EMBRYO.
I WOULD LIKE NOW TO LOOK AT OUR NEXT CHART HERE BECAUSE THIS SHOWS THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE EMBRYO AND IT HAS ALL OF THE STAGES THERE.
IT STARTS WITH THE ZYGOTE. HERE WE HAVE THE FERTILIZED EGG OR THE ZYGOTE. OF COURSE, THIS ALL BEGINS WITH AN OVARY.
THIS IS ONLY HALF OF THE REPRODUCTION SYSTEM OF THE FEMALE. AN OVARY WHICH, EVERY MONTH, ROUTINELY DURING THE CHILD BEARING YEARS, WILL PRODUCE AN OVUM.
HERE IS IS THE FOLLICLE RUPTURING AND THE OVUM COMING OUT.
HERE IS THE OOCYTE.
IT MAKES ITS WAY INTO THE FLOPIAN TUBE.
SOMETIMES THEY GET INTO THE ABDOMINAL CAVITY.
SOMETIMES THIS EGG IS NOT PICKED UP BY THIS FUNNEL SHAPED END AND SOMETIMES THAT CELL DOESN'T GET OUT THERE AND GET PICKED UP BY THE FALLOPIAN TUBE AND CARRIED DOWN WITH THE BEATING OF A NUMBER OF CYLIA AND GOES INTO THE BODY CAVITY.
THE SPERM GET OUT THERE TO.
THEY CAN BE FERTILIZED AND WE CALL THAT AN ECTOPIC PREGNANCY.
THE BABY CAN'T DEVELOP THERE AND WILL CAUSE PROBLEMS FOR THE MOTHER. SO THIS ECTOPIC PREGNANCY NEEDS TO BE TERMINATED BECAUSE IT WILL RESULT IN THE DEATH OF THE MOTHER IF IT CONTINUES.
AFTER FERTILIZATION THE EGG BEGINS ITS JOURNEY, TAKING SEVERAL DAYS, MAYBE AS MANY AS EIGHT, NINE, 10 DAYS UNTIL IT FINALLY REACHES THE END OF THE JOURNEY AND IMPLANTED INTO THE WALL OF THE UTERUS.
IT DIVIDES, FIRST TWO CELLS, THEN FOUR CELLS, AND THEN EIGHT CELLS. I WOULD LIKE TO PAUSE FOR JUST A MOMENT AT THAT EIGHT-CELL STAGE AND IMAGINE NOW WE ARE NOT IN THE REPRODUCTIVE TRACT OF THE FEMALE BUT IN A PETRI DISH IN THE LABORATORY.
BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT IN VITRO FERTILIZATION MEANS. THEY HAVE TAKEN THE EGG FROM THE MOTHER AND SPERM FROM THE FATHER AND COMBINED THESE TWO AND PRODUCED THE ZYGOTE.
IT DIVIDES AND DIVIDES UNTIL IT COMES TO THE EIGHT-CELL STAGE. AT THIS STAGE MORE THAN 1,000 TIMES WORLDWIDE IN ONE CLINIC IN ENGLAND MORE THAN 600 TIMES, THEY'VE TAKEN IN THE LABORATORY UNDER THE MICROSCOPE, A CELL AND SOMETIMES THEY GET TWO FROM THAT EIGHT-CELL STAGE AND THEY'VE DONE WHAT THEY CALL A PREIMPLANTATION GENETIC DIAGNOSIS.
THEY LOOK AT THE GENES AND YOU CAN DO THAT.
WE NOW KNOW WHAT THEY OUGHT TO LOOK LIKE AND THEY CAN DETERMINE IF THERE IS ANY GENETIC DEFECT.
WINSTON CUP DEFECT IS CALLED TRISOMI 21, MONGOLISM. IF THERE IS AN EXTRA CHROMOSOME YOU GET MONGOLISM.
IF THERE IS NO DEFECT IN THE CELL THEY ANALYZE, WHICH WILL BE LIKE ALL THE OTHER CELLS, THEN THEY IMPLANT WHAT IS REMAINING, THAT IS THE SIX OR SEVEN CELLS THAT ARE REMAINING AND NOW MORE THAN 1,000 TIMES WORLDWIDE WE'VE HAD WHAT LOOKS LIKE A PERFECTLY NORMAL BABY BORN FROM THIS PROCESS.
THIS TECHNIQUE, WHICH HAS BEEN WIDELY USED IN ENGLAND, IS NOW USED IN THIS COUNTRY.
JUST OUTSIDE OF WASHINGTON IN VIRGINIA IS A CLINIC THAT IS DOING THIS. THEY HAVE DONE IT MORE THAN 300 TIMES.
SEVERAL WEEKS AGO I TALKED FOR PERHAPS A HALF-HOUR WITH TWO OF THEIR DOCTORS ABOUT THE PROCEDURE. LET'S NOW TAKE A LOOK AT HOW THEY GET EMBRYONIC STEM CELL LINES. THEY TAKE AN EMBRYO IN THE LABORATORY, WHICH HAS BEEN PRODUCED BY THE FERTILIZATION OF AN EGG, AND THEY LET IT DEVELOP, NOT TO THE EIGHT-CELL STAGE, THEY GO JUST A LITTLE BEYOND THAT.
THEY GO TO THE INNER CELL MASS AND THEN THEY DESTROY THE EMBRYO AND THERE ARE NOW A LOT OF CELLS, NOT JUST EIGHT.
AND THEY TAKE A NUMBER OF THE CELLS FROM THE INNER CELL MASS WHICH I INDICATED PREVIOUSLY HAVE ALL THE GENETIC POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE THE BODY OF THE BABY, BUT NONE OF THE GENETIC DETAIL TO PRODUCE THE DECIDUA. THE DECIDUA, THE FINGERS LIKE THAT ARE GROWING INTO THE LINING OF THE UTERUS.
WHAT THIS DEBATE IS ALL ABOUT, MR. SPEAKER, IS ABOUT THE MORALITY, REALLY, THE ETHICS OF TAKING THIS LITTLE EMBRYO, WHICH IS A BABY IN MINIATURE BECAUSE IF YOU SEE IF IT GOES ON JUST A COUPLE OF DAYS LATER AND IMPLANTS IN THE UTERUS, IT WILL BECOME A BABY.
IT IS NOW IN THE PETRI DISH, BUT IT CAN BE IMPLANTED INTO THE UTERUS. TO TAKE THIS EMBRYO AND DESTROY IT AND TAKE THE CELLS FROM TINNER CELL MASS TO PRODUCE A STEM CELL LINE.
UP TO THIS TIME, THAT'S BEEN THE ONLY TECHNIQUE THAT HAS BEEN AVAILABLE FOR DEVELOPING THESE STEM CELL LINES. AND THE PRESIDENT HAD A VERY DIFFICULT DECISION TO MAKE FOUR YEARS AGO WHEN THERE WAS AN INTEREST OF USING FEDERAL MONEY.
MAYBE WE SHOULD PAUSE TO SEE WHY WE ARE SO MUCH INTERESTED IN STEM CELL RESEARCH .
BECAUSE THESE STEM CELLS AS THE EARLIER SLIDE SHOWED, CAN PRODUCE ALL OF THE TISSUES IN THE BODY, THERE IS THE HOPE, THE PROMISE, AND, IN FACT, THE REALIZATION OF SOME OF THE WORK WE HAVE DONE WITH ADULT STEM CELLS THAT WE CAN USE THESE STEM CELLS TO REPLACE TISSUES WHICH HAVE BEEN DAMAGED BY DISEASE OR SOME OTHER TRAUMA IN THE BODY.
WE CAN REPLACE THOSE SO AS TO RESTORE HEALTH. NOW, WE HAVE A LOT OF APPLICATIONS FROM ADULT STEM CELLS AND NO APPLICATIONS FROM EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS.
WHY SHOULD WE HAVE THIS DEBATE ABOUT EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS WHEN ALL OF THE APPLICATIONS HAVE BEEN FROM ADULT STEM CELLS.
WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH ADULT STEM CELLS FOR MORE THAN THREE DECADES.
WE HAVE HAD A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE APPLICATIONS THERE.
WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS FOR ONLY ABOUT SIX YEARS AND THERE JUST HASN'T BEEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE THE MEDICAL APPLICATION FROM EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS THAT WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO MAKE FROM ADULT STEM CELLS. BUT BECAUSE OF WHAT EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS ARE, BECAUSE EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS STILL HAVE ALL OF THE CAPABILITY TO PRODUCE ANY AND EVERY TISSUE IN THE BODY, DOCTORS AND RESEARCHERS BELIEVE INTUITIVELY FROM WHAT THEY KNOW OF EMB RYOLOGY THERE OUGHT TO BE MORE AND BETTER APPLICATIONS FROM EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS THAN ADULT STEM CELLS.
WE DON'T KNOW.
IT MAY BE THESE EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS MAY BE LIKE UNRULEY TEENAGERS, VERY DIFFICULT TO CONTROL.
YOU SEE, THEIR DESTINY IN LIFE IS TO TWIDE AND DIVIDE AND DIVIDE. WE WANT THEM TO DO THAT, BUT WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO CONTROL HOW THEY DIVIDE AND WHAT THEY PRODUCE.
IF IT'S A LIVER THAT YOUR PATIENT NEEDS, YOU NEED NOW TO CONVINCE THE EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS THAT'S WHAT THEY OUGHT TO BE PRODUCING. WHEN THEY HAVE DONE ENOUGH, THEY HAVE DONE ENOUGH AND THEY NEED TO QUIT. IT MAY BE THAT THEY ARE GOING TO BE VERY DIFFICULT TO CONTROL, LIKE THE UNRULEY TEENAGER, THEY MAY KEEP ON DIVIDING, WHEN YOU PUT THEM IN THE BODY THEY MAY END UP FORMING TUMORS. WE WON'T KNOW UNTIL WE DO THAT RESEARCH.
BECAUSE OF WHAT EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS ARE AND BECAUSE THEY HAVE THE ABILITY TO PRODUCE ANY AND EVERY CELL IN THE BODY, MANY AMERICANS BELIEVE THAT THERE MAY BE REALLY IMPORTANT APPLICATIONS FROM EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS TO MEDICINE.
WE DESERVE TO PROVIDE THE OPPORTUNITIES SO THAT THAT CAN BE DONE WITHOUT HARMING THE EMBRYO.
UP TO THIS DATE THE ONLY WAY THAT WE HAVE GOTTEN THESE EMBRYONIC STEM CELL LINES STARTED IS BY TAKING SOME OF THE CELLS FROM THIS INNER CELL MASS AND -- WHICH DESTROYS THE EMBRYO.
IN 2001 THE PRESIDENT WAS FACED WITH A VERY DIFFICULT DECISION.
HE NEEDED TO DETERMINE WHETHER FEDERAL FUNDS COULD BE USED IN EMBRYONIC STEM CELL RESEARCH WHEN THE ONLY WAY TO GET EMBRYOS AT THAT TIME WAS BY DESTROYING THE EMBRYO.
WHEN THE PRESIDENT WAS DELIBERATING, MAKING THAT DIFFICULT DECISION, THE SCIENTISTS AT N.I.H. HAD AN OPEN HOUSE FOR MEMBERS OF THE STAFF HERE AND MEMBERS OF CONGRESS TO COME TO N.I.H. TO LEARN ABOUT BRETCH -- EMBRYONIC STEM CELL RESEARCH AND THE POTENTIALS, AND I WENT THERE, MR. SPEAKER, AND I LISTENED TO THEIR PRESENTATIONS AND BECAUSE IN A FORMER LIFE I WAS PRIVILEGED TO BE ABLE TO GET A PH.D. , A DOCTOR'S DEGREE IN HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY, BECAUSE I TAUGHT MEDICAL SCHOOL, BECAUSE I HAD A COURSE IN ADVANCED EMBRYOLOGY, I KNEW A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT.
AS THE NEXT CHART SHOWS.
THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE: WILL THE GENTLEMAN SUSPEND FOR A MOMENT. THE CHAIR WILL RECEIVE A MESSAGE.
THE MESSENGER: MR. SPEAKER A. MESSAGE FROM THE SENATE. THE SECRETARY: MR. SPEAKER. THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE: MADAM SECRETARY. THE SECRETARY: I HAVE BEEN DIRECTED BY THE SENATE TO INFORM THE HOUSE THAT THE SENATE HAS AGREED TO THE CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 6, AN ACT TO ENSURE JOBS FOR OUR FUTURE WITH SECURE, AFFORDABLE, AND RELIABLE ENERGY.
THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE: THE GENTLEMAN MAY PROCEED.
MR. BARTLETT: THANK YOU, MR. SPEAKER. AS I MENTIONED WHEN I SAT THERE LISTENING TO THE RESEARCHERS AT N.I.H. EXPLAINING WHAT THEY WERE DOING AND THE DREAMS AND THE HOPES THAT THEY HAD FOR THE APPLICATIONS OF EMBRYONIC STEM CELL RESEARCH AND WHEN I THOUGHT OF THE DILEMMA THAT THE PRESIDENT WAS IN IN TRYING TO DECIDE WHETHER IT WAS OK TO DESTROY THESE EMBRYOS TO GET A STEM CELL LINE TO GET SOMETHING THAT WOULD COME UP WITH MIRACULOUS CURES, I THOUGHT BACK TO MY STUDIES AND TO A COURSE THAT I HAD IN ADVANCED EMBRYOLOGY -- YOU DON'T NEED TO HAVE THE COURSE TO UNDERSTAND THIS. EVERYBODY CAN UNDERSTAND THIS. IT OCCURRED TO ME THAT NATURE HAD BEEN DOING FOR A VERY LONG TIME WHAT WE NEEDED TO DO, AND THAT WAS TO TAKE CELLS FROM THE EARLY EMBRYO WITHOUT HURTING THE EMBRYO.
HOW DID NATURE DO THIS?
NATURE HAD BEEN DOING THIS FOR A LONG TIME BY PRODUCING IDENTICAL TWINS.
YOU SEE, AN IDENTICAL TWIN HALF OF THE CELLS ARE TAKEN AWAY FROM THE EMBRYO, AND EACH HALF GOES ON TO PRODUCE A PERFECTLY NORMAL BABY.
BY THE WAY, MR. SPEAKER, ONE OF THOSE IDENTICAL TWINS IS A CLONE.
YOU DECIDE WHICH ONE IT IS, AND YOU THINK ABOUT THAT, MR. SPEAKER, AND DEE DECIDE HOW THIS RELATES TO THE DIALOGUE THAT WE ARE HAVING ON CLONING.
THERE ARE TWO DIFFERENT TIMES DURING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE EMBRYO, AT LEAST TWO, MAYBE MORE, BUT AT LEAST TWO DIFFERENT TIMES DURING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE EMBRYO THAT IT CAN SPLIT TO PRODUCE IDENTICAL TWINS. ONE IS AT THE TWO-CELL STAGE WHEN, THERE ARE TWO CELLS THERE AND INSTEAD OF JUST DIVIDING TO MAKE FOUR CELLS, IT SPLITS SO THAT THERE IS NOW TWO ONE-CELL EMBRYOS, AND EACH GOES ON TO DIVIDE AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN, FINALLY TO PRODUCE A BABY.
OR IT CAN WAIT UNTIL THE INNER CELL MASS STAGE, AT WHICH TIME IN SOME EMBRYOS ONCE IN A WHILE THERE ARE TWO INNER CELL MASSES , AND THAT CAN NOW SPLIT TO PERFORM IDENTICAL TWINS.
AS YOU KNOW, MR. SPEAKER, SOMETIMES THIS ISN'T PERFECT.
AND THEY DON'T SPLIT TOTALLY.
WE HAVE WHAT WE CALL SIAMESE TWINS.
THIS IS THE ORIGIN OF SIAMESE TWINS WHEN THE SPLIT HAS OCCURRED PROBABLY AT THE INNER CELL MASS STAGE AND IT HASN'T BEEN COMPLETE AND THEY REMAIN CLOSE ENOUGH TOGETHER THAT SOME PARTS OF THE BODY GROW TOGETHER.
NOW, WE KNOW THAT THE EGGS ARE CAPABLE, THE EMBRYO IS CAPABLE OF SPLITTING AT THESE TWO DIFFERENT STAGES BECAUSE OF THE WAY THE BABIES PRESENT THEMSELVES AT BIRTH. IF THEY ARE BOTH INSIDE THE SAME EMANYONIC SACK, THEY ARE SPLIT AT THE TWO CELLS STAGE. IF THEY EACH HAVE THEIR OWN EMBRYO, THEY PROBABLY SPLIT LATER ON, PROBABLY AT THE INNER CELL MASS STAGE.
IT OCCURRED TO ME SINCE NATURE MANY TIMES TAKES HALF OF THE CELLS AWAY FROM THE EARLY EMBRYO, AND THEY GO ON TO PRODUCE TWO PERFECTLY NORMAL BABIES, THAT WE OUGHT TO BE ABLE TO TAKE A CELL OR TWO FROM AN EARLY EMBRYO WITHOUT HURTING THE EARLY EMBRYO, AND I ASKED THE SCIENTISTS AT N.I.H., SHOULDN'T WE BE ABLE TO DO THIS?
THEY SAID, WELL, NATURE'S BEEN DOING IT FOR A LONG TIME.
WE OUGHT TO BE ABLE TO DO IT.
WE HAVE NOT DONE IT.
BUT WE OUGHT TO BE ABLE TO DO IT.
A LITTLE BIT AFTER THAT I WAS AT AN EVENT WHEN THE PRESIDENT WAS THERE AND I MENTIONED THIS PONLT TO THE PRESIDENT, HE -- POSSIBILITY TO THE PRESIDENT, AND HE HADN'T COME OUT WITH THE EXECUTIVE ORDER.
HE ASKED KARL ROVE TO FOLLOW UP.
AND A FEW DAYS LATER I GOT A CALL SAYING THAT THE WHITE HOUSE TOLD HIM WHAT I WAS PROPOSING WASN'T DOABLE.
I SAID, KARL, EITHER THEY DIDN'T UNDERSTAND YOUR QUESTION OR THERE'S SOME CONFUSION BECAUSE THESE ARE THE SAME PEOPLE THAT CAN TAKE A SINGLE CELL AND TAKE THE NUCLEUS OUT OF THAT CELL AND PUT ANOTHER IN IT.
OF COURSE THEY CAN TAKE A CELL OUT OF AN EARLY EMBRYO.
SO WE WENT BACK AND ASKED HIM AGAIN HE CAME BACK AND SAID HE GOT THE SAME ANSWER FROM THEM.
THAT THEY COULDN'T DO THIS. SO THE PRESIDENT CAME DOWN WITH HIS EXECUTIVE ORDER. A COUPLE YEARS AFTER THAT, NOT VERY MANY MONTHS AGO, AS A MATTER OF FACT, THE PEOPLE AT N.I.H. WERE SITTING IN MY OFFICE AND I ASKED THEM HOW COULD THIS HAVE HAPPENED?
WHAT APPARENTLY HAPPENED, WHAT SO OFTEN HAPPENS IN COMMUNICATIONS, THERE IS A MISCOMMUNICATION. WHAT THEY HAD TOLD KARL ROVE WAS THAT THEY WEREN'T SURE THEY COULD PRODUCE AN EMBRYONIC STEM CELL LINE FROM AN EMBRYO THAT EARLY.
BECAUSE THEY HAD NEVER DONE IT. NOT THAT IT WASN'T DOABLE. JUST THEY HAD NEVER DONE IT. HE INTERPRETED THIS AS SAYING, GEE, THEY COULDN'T TAKE THIS CELL AND THEREFORE THE RESEARCH COULDN'T BE DONE.
I'D LIKE TO SPEND JUST A MOMENT, MR. SPEAKER, LOOKING AT SOME OF THE REASONS THAT PEOPLE ARE SO CONCERNED AND WHY THIS WAS SUCH AN IMPORTANT DECISION ON THE PART OF THE PARENT OF THE PRESIDENT -- OF THE PRESIDENT AND WHY SENATOR FRIST'S DECISION LAST NIGHT HAS STIRRED UP SO MUCH CONTROVERSY.
IT'S BECAUSE THERE ARE A VERY LARGE NUMBER OF DISEASES THAT HAVE THE POTENTIAL OF BEING CURED ULTIMATELY WITH APPLICATION OF STEM CELLS.
LET ME GIVE YOU ONE OF THOSE WHICH IS THE MOST EXPENSIVE DISEASE IN OUR WHOLE COUNTRY, AND THAT'S DIABETES.
AND I HAVE BEEN IN MY OFFICE SEVERAL TIMES WHEN THE CHILDREN COME THROUGH WITH JUVENILE DIABETES -- IF YOU WANT A HEARTRENDING EXPERIENCE, MR. SPEAKER, THIS IS IT.
THESE KIDS COME IN WITH THIS HOCKEY PUCK LIKE THING UNDER THEIR SKIN, WHICH IS AN INSULIN PUMP BECAUSE THEY ARE SO BRITTLE THEY HAVE TO BE BRICKING THEIR FINGER OR THEIR THUMB OR EAR LOBE OR SOMETHING A NUMBER OF TIMES A DAY TO GET A GLUCOSE LEVEL SO THEY CAN SET THE PUMP SO THEY ARE GETTING THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF INSULIN IN, THEY ARE SO BRITTLE THEY CAN'T DO IT A FEW TIMES A DAY, IT HAS TO BE PUMPED IN REGULARLY ALONG.
THIS IS THE MOST EXPENSIVE DISEASE IN OUR COUNTRY.
AND IT IS POTENTIALLY TOTALLY CURABLE WITH STEM CELL APPLICATIONS. ALL YOU NEED TO DO, MR. SPEAKER, IS TO PRODUCE SOME IDENTIFYLET OF LONGER HAN CELLS.
THESE ARE THE CELLS THAT JUST HAPPEN TO BE EMBEDDED IN THE PANCREAS. I HAVE NO REASON WHY THEY NEED TO BE IN THE PANCREAS, THEY HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE FUNCTION OF THE PANCREAS BECAUSE THE PANCREAS IS A BIG DIE JESSIVE GLAND AT THE TOP OF THE INTESTINE THAT PRODUCE ENZYMES THAT DIE JESS FATS, AND CARBOHYDRATES.
EMBEDED IN THE ISSUE ARE WHAT LOOK LIKE THESE LITTLE ISLANDS, THE GERMAN, AS HE LOOKED UNDER THE MICROSCOPE, SO WE CALL THEM THE ILETS OF LONGERHAN. INSULIN DOESN'T CURE DIABETES.
AS ANY PERSON WHO HAS DIABETES KNOWS.
IT SIMPLY DELAYS THE COURSE OF THE DISEASE, STILL THERE MAY ULTIMATELY BE PROBLEMS WITH THE EYES, PROBLEMS WITH CIRCULATION.
YOU LOSE SOME TOES. GANG GREEN SETS IN. -- GANGRENE SETS IN.
IF WE COULD CREATISLET -- CREATE ILET OF LONGERHAHN CELLS. ANYWHERE THE BLOOD CAN GET TO THEM SOT SOW THE KIRK LATION CAN PICK UP THE HORMONE PRODUCED BY THIS, THIS SHOULD CURE THE DISEASE.
PARTICULARLY THE MANY AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES, THERE ARE 63 AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES.
THESE ARE DISEASES WHAT THE BODY GETS CONFUSED WHAT'S REALLY BODY.
WHAT'S INTERESTING WITH THESE EARLY EMBRYOS, OBVIOUSLIEE WEE NEED TO KNOW WHAT'S US SO WHAT'S FOREIGN TO US IS GOING TO BE REJECTED WHEN IT COMES IN.
WHEN YOU GET INSIDE YOUR BODY, THERE ARE NO BACTERIA IN THERE. THAT'S A PRISTINE WORLD. WE HAVE A BIG ARMY OF WHITE CELLS IN THERE THAT MAKE SURE THAT IT KEEPS IT PRISTINE.
THESE WHITE CELLS ARE TOLD BY WHAT WE CALL T CELLS AS TO WHAT'S YOU AND WHAT'S NOT YOU SO THAT THEY ATTACK WHAT'S NOT YOU.
SOMETIMES, AND IN MORE PEOPLE THAN WE'D LIKE TO HAVE IT OCCUR, SOMETIMES THE BODY GETS CONFUSED AS TO WHAT'S REALLY YOU.
I HAVE A LITTLE PROBLEM, RULE TORREY ARTRY TIES. THAT'S AN AUTO IMMUNE DISEASE WHERE THE BODY HAS -- IT'S CONFUSED SO IT STARTED ATTACKING IT SELF.
THERE ARE 63 OF THOSE DISEASES. POTENTIALLY ALL OF THEM COULD BE ADDRESSED WITH STEM CELL RESEARCH.
ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE, VERY TRAGIC DISEASE, CENTRAL NERVE INJURY, YOU INJURE YOUR SPINAL CORD THEY DON'T GROW BACK, THERE IS THE POTENTIAL YOU COULD PUT NEW CELLS IN THERE AND PEOPLE WHO ARE IN THE WHEELCHAIR COULD WALK NEN GWEN. THERE IS THAT POTENTIAL.
WHICH IS EIGHTY GREAT INTEREST IN EMBRYONIC AND IN GENERAL STEM CELL RESEARCH, PARTICULARLY IN EMBRYONIC STEM CELL RESEARCH BECAUSE OF THE ENORMOUS POTENTIAL THEY OUGHT TO HAVE BECAUSE THEY ARE SO TOTALLY UNDIFFERENTIATED BECAUSE THEY CAN PRODUCE ANY AND EVERY CELL IN THE BODY.
I HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH THE WHITE HOUSE, WITH THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH, WITH THE OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS, WITH THE PRO-LIFE COMMUNITY IN DEVELOPING A BILL THAT IS H.R. 3144, WHICH WOULD PERMIT RESEARCH ON NOT JUST THE PROCEDURE WHICH I RECOMMENDED MORE THAN FOUR YEARS AGO NOW, BUT SEVERAL OTHER PROCEDURES THAT ARE OUTLINED IN A BILL LOOK WHICH I HAVE HERE, CALLED "ALTERNATIVE SOURCES OF HUMAN PLURIPOTENT STEM CELLS, A WHITE PAPER, PRODUCED BY THE PRESIDENT'S COUNCIL ON BIOETHICS. " THEY TALK HERE ABOUT FOUR DIFFERENT KINDS OF RESEARCH THAT -- FOUR DIFFERENT KINDS OF WAYS OF PROCURING EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS THAT MIGHT BE ETHICALLY ACCEPTABLE TO THE PRO-LIFE COMMUNITY.
THE FIRST OF THESE IS PLURIPOTENT, BY PLURIPOTENT THEY MEAN CELLS THAT HAVE THE CAPABILITY TO PRODUCE ALL OF THE TISSUES OF THE EMBRYO BUT NOT THE DECIDUA.
PLURIPOTENT SELLS DERIVE FROM EMBRYOS THAT ARE ESSENTIALLY MORIBUND, DEAD.
THE EQUIVALENT, IF YOU WILL, OF AN ADULT THAT IS BRAIN-DEAD.
IT'S PERFECTLY ETHICAL, MOST PEOPLE BELIEVE, TO TAKE ORGANS, THAT'S HOW WE GET ORGANS FOR TRANSPLANT, FROM ADULTS THAT ARE BRAIN-DEAD.
IF YOU HAVE AN EMBRYO WHICH IS OBVIOUSLY NOT GOING TO DEVELOP BUT IT STILL IS ALIVE ENOUGH YOU MIGHT TAKE CELLS FROM IT TO PRODUCE A STEM CELL LINE, IF YOU KNEW IT WAS DEAD, IT COULD NEVER PRODUCE A BABY, ETHICALLY IT WOULD APPEAR TO MANY PEOPLE TO BE OK TO TAKE THAT -- CELLS FROM THAT TO ESTABLISH THE STEM CELL LINE.
YOU MIGHT HAVE A LITTLE CONCERN THAT AN EMBRYO THAT SAT THERE A DAY OR TWO AND NEVER DIVIDED, BECAUSE IT WAS SOMETHING WRONG WITH IT, THAT THE CELL YOU TOOK FROM IT TO PRODUCE THE STEM CELL LINE MIGHT NOT PRODUCE JUST THE HIGH QUALITY STEM CELL LINE THAT YOU MIGHT LIKE FOR RESEARCH, BUT AT LEAST IT'S WORTH EXPLORING AND IT GETS BY THE ETHICAL ARGUMENTS.
THE SECOND ONE OF THEIR PROPOSALS, I'D LIKE TO LOOK AT THE NEXT CHART AS WE DO THAT, THE NEXT CHART BECAUSE LET ME LOOK AT THIS CHART FOR A MOMENT HERE WITH YOU, THIS COMES FROM A WHITE PAPER ON THE PRESIDENT'S COUNCIL ON BIO ETHICS, AND LET ME LOOK AT THE HIGHLIGHTED PORTION, IT MAY BE SOME TIME BEFORE STEM CELLS CAN BE RELIABLY DERESERVED FROM SINGLE CELLS EXTRACTED FROM EARLY EMBRYO, A PROCEDURE THAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT THAT OCCURRED TO ME WHEN I WAS AT N.I.H. TALKING TO THE INVESTIGATORS THERE. AND IN WAYS THAT DO NO HARM TO THE EMBRYO, THUS BIOPSIED. THE INITIAL SUCCESS OF THE VERLINSKY.
VERLINSKY SAYS HE HAS DONE WHAT N.I.H. HAS SAID THEY ARE NOT SURE THEY COULD CAN, SPRUCE AN EMBRYONIC STEM CELL STEM CELL LINE FROM ONE EMBRYO.
RAISING THE POSSIBILITY THAT PLURIPOTENT STEM CELLS CAN BE TAKEN FROM A BLASTOMERE, REMOVED FROM EARLY HUMAN EMBRYOS WITHOUT HARMING THEM. THE ASTERISK THERE.
IF YOU LOOK DOWN AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE A SIMILAR IDEA WAS PROPOSED BY REPRESENTATIVE ROSCOE BARTLETT OR MARYLAND AS FAR BACK AS 2001.
WHAT THEY ARE REFERRING TO IS THE RECOMMENDATION THAT I MADE TO THE PRESIDENT THAT RERELAYED ON TO KARL ROVE.
SO THIS IS RECOGNIZED IN THIS FAIRLY RECENTLY PUBLISHED WHITE PAPER. ALTERNIVE SOURCES OF PURRY POTENT STEM CELLS. -- PLURIPOTENT STEM CELLS.
THEY TAKE CELLS FROM AN EMBRYO THAT IS GOING TO DIE, LIKE THE PERSON IS BRAIN DEAD, WHY NOT GET SOME BENEFIT. WE DO THAT WITH ORGAN TRANSPLANTS ALL THE TIME. THE THIRD ONE IS VERY INTERESTING.
THAT IS TO PRODUCE PLURI POTENT STEM CELLS DERIVED FROM BIOLOGICAL ARTIFACTS.
ONE OF THOSE GOES BACK TO THIS LITTLE EMBRYO IN THE PETRI DISH. THEY WANT TO GO IN THE EARLY EMBRYO AND TURN OFF SOME OF THE GENES. SO THAT IT CAN NEVER PRODUCE A BABY.
IT CAN GO ON DIVIDING AND PRODUCING A MASS OF CELLS. THIS IS CALLED AN ARTIFACT.
IF IT IS NOT GOING TO BE A BABY, IT IS JUST A MASS OF CELLS, MAYBE IT IS OK TO TAKE A CELL TO PRODUCE AN EMBRYONIC STEM CELL LINE.
SOME PEOPLE MAY HAVE CONCERN, MR. SPEAKER, THAT YOU HAVE GONE IN EARLY AND MESSED UP WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN A NORMAL BABY.
NOW YOU HAVE CREATED KIND OF A FREAK THAT YOU CAN TAKE SOME CELLS FROM. IF IT IS NOT GOING TO BE A BABY, YOU CAN TAKE THE CELLS.
AT LEAST IT IS A WAY OF GETTING EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS WITHOUT DESTROYING WHAT, AT THAT POINT, IS A STEM CELL. THERE IS A UNION WITHOUT SEX CELLS.
THE FOURTH TECHNIQUE IS INTERESTING, TAKING PLURI POTENT. TAKE A BODY CELL FROM ANYWHERE IN THE BODY, SKIN, MUSCLE, LUNGS AND DIFFERENTIATE IT. TRYING TO PRODUCE A CELL IN AN ENVIRONMENT THAT IS CONFUSED AS TO WHAT IT IS.
IT THINKS AND BEHAVES LIKE AN EMBRYONIC STEM CELL.
IF WE CAN DO THIS, THAT IS GREAT BECAUSE ETHICALLY THERE SHOULDN'T BE ANY PROBLEM WITH DOING THIS. THIS HAS NOT BEEN DONE.
THERE ARE BIG TECHNICAL CHALLENGES TO DOING THIS.
THIS WHITE PAPER GIVES A VERY GOOD DISCUSSION OF THE PROPOSAL THAT WE MADE.
SOMETIMES CALLED BIOPSY. YOU ARE TAKING A CELL OR TWO. THEY EVEN TALK ABOUT PRODUCING THE REPAIR IT CAN WHICH WOULD BE REALLIED A VAN TAI JOUSE FOR THE -- ADVANTAGEOUS. IF IT NEEDS A NEW LIVER, NEW ISLET OF LANGERHANS CELLS. HOPEFULLY QUESTION PRODUCE THIS FROM A REPAIR IT CAN.
IT ALMOST LOOKS TO ME LIKE TWO DIFFERENT GROUPS WROTE THE BODY OF THIS TEXT WHERE THEY TALK ABOUT THIS TECHNIQUE AND WHERE THEY MAKE THE RECOMMENDATIONS.
IN THE RECOMMENDATIONS THEY SAY THE SECOND PROPOSAL, WE FIND THIS PROPOSAL TO BE ETHICALLY UNACCEPTABLE IN HUMANS OWING TO THE REASONS GIVEN IN THE ETHICAL ANALYSIS, WE SHOULD NOT IMPOSE RISKS ON OLIVING EMBRYOS DESTENED TO BECOME CHILDREN FOR THE STAKE OF GETTING STEM CELLS.
I AGREE. THAT IS NOT THE REASON STEM CELLS ARE TAKEN FROM THIS BABY. CELLS ARE TAKEN WITH NO THOUGHT THEY ARE STEM CELLS TSM CELLS ARE TAKEN BY THE PARENTS TO PRODUCE A REPAIR IT CAN FOR THE BABY. I THINK MOST AMERICANS DON'T HAVE AN ETHICAL PROBLEM, MR. SPEAKER, WITH IN VITRO FERTILIZATION.
I THINK MOST AMERICANS DON'T HAVE AN ETHICAL PROBLEM WITH DECIDING YOUR BABY IS NOT GOING TO HAVE A GENETIC DEFECT. I DON'T THINK HARDLY ANY AMERICANS COULD EVER HAVE A PROBLEM WITH ESTABLISHING A REPAIR IT CAN FOR YOUR BABY.
AND WHAT IS ENVISIONED IS THAT AT THE END OF THE DAY THE PARENTS WOULD HAVE MADE AT LEAST TWO ETHICAL DECISIONS, THAT IS, TO HAVE THEIR OWN BABY -- THE ONLY WAY THEY CAN DO IT IS IN VITRO, AND ESTABLISH A REPAIR IT CAN FOR THEIR BABY AND ALL THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO GET ANOTHER STEM CELL LINE IS TO ASK THEM, COULDN'T WE HAVE SURPLUS CELLS FROM THE REPAIR IT CAN YOU HAVE ESTABLISHED.
THERE'S A BIG DISCUSSION GOING ON IN OUR COUNTRY NOW, MR. SPEAKER, ABOUT EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS.
THEY VOTED HOW MANY BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN CALIFORNIA TO PURSUE EMBRYONIC STEM CELL RESEARCH BECAUSE A BIG PERCENT OF OUR POPULATION BELIEVES THERE COULD BE MAJOR MEDICAL APPLICATION THERE, WHICH WOULD PROVIDE MIRACULOUS CURES FOR MANY OF OUR DISEASES.
THEN WE HAVE A LARGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THE PRO-LIFE COMMUNITY, THAT HAVE A BIG PROBLEM WITH TAKING THESE EMBRYOS, ANY ONE OF WHICH COULD BECOME A BABY.
WE HAD MORE THAN 100 OF THEM CALLED THE SNOW FLAKE BABIES THAT HAVE BEEN ADOPTED AND PLANTED IN THE RECEPTIVE WOMB OF A MOTHER AND HAVE BECOME A BABY.
TO TAKE THIS HUMAN LIFE, AND IT IS A LIFE AND IT IS HUMAN, TO DESTROY IT TO PRODUCE A STEM CELL LINE. NOW, MOST OF THIS DEBATE IGNORES THE FACT, SIMPLY BECAUSE THE DEBATERS DON'T KNOW THAT IT IS POSSIBLE, MR. SPEAKER, TO GET EMBRYONIC STEM CELL LINES WITHOUT HARMING EMBRYOS. I'D LIKE TO GO BACK TO THE SECOND CHART I SHOWED, THE HALF OF THE REPRODUCTIVE TRACT OF A FEMALE SO WE CAN LOOK AT THIS AGAIN TOGETHER SO THAT WE UNDERSTAND CLEARLY WHAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT HERE.
AND WE'LL IMAGINE NOW THAT THIS IS HAPPENING IN THE LABORATORY AND IT IS IN A PETRI DISH, IN GLASS, IN VITRO IS WHAT WE CALL IT. BECAUSE THE PARENTS COULDN'T HAVE A BABY ANY OH WAY, THEY DECIDED TO HAVE -- IN ANY OTHER WAY, THEY DECIDED TO HAVE IN VITRO FERTILIZATION AND THEY WOULD LIKE TO DO ONE THING, THAT IS ESTABLISH A REPAIR IT CAN FOR THEIR BABY. THEY MIGHT WANT TO DO A PREIMPLANTATION GENETIC DIAGNOSIS.
SO NOW THE PHYSICIAN IN THE CLINIC WILL WAIT UNTIL THE CELLS DIVIDE AND PRODUCE SEVERAL EMBRYOS. AND BY THE WAY, THEY DON'T ALL PRODUCE GOOD-LOOKING EMBRYOS.
SO THEY FERTILIZE MORE THAN ONE EGG. THEY WILL TAKE THE BEST OF THEM.
GENERALLY MORE THAN ONE OF THEM, ONE OF MY COLLEAGUES, MR. ROHRABACHER OF CALIFORNIA, HIS WIFE HAS THREE BEAUTIFUL BABIES FROM IN VITRO FERTILIZATION.
I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY THE DOCTOR IMPLANTED, BUT THREE GREW AND SHE HAD TRIPLETS. I SAW A RECENT PICTURE OF THEM IN THEIR LIFE VESTS OUT IN THE SURF IN CALIFORNIA.
THERE IS A POTENTIAL ETHICAL ARGUMENT EVEN IF WE LET THE PARENTS MAKE THE DECISION WE ARE GOING TO DO THE IN VITRO FERTILIZATION.
IF THE PARENTS ESTABLISH THEY ARE GOING MAKE A REPAIR IT CAN AND ALL WE ASK FOR IS A FEW CELLS FROM THAT REPAIR IT CAN.
YOU SEE, IF THE CELL IS TAKEN FROM THE EIGHT-CELL STAGE, THEN YOU COULD MAKE THE ARGUMENT THAT MAYBE THE CELL YOU TOOK COULD BECOME ANOTHER EMBRYO. SO THEN YOU START ALL OVER AGAIN WITH THE ETHICAL ARGUMENT. YOU NOW HAVE ANOTHER EMBRYO.
AND SO YOU NOW, ETHICALLY, SHOULDN'T DESTROY THAT EMBRYO WITH THE HOPE THAT YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE SOME APPLICATIONS TO HEALTH CARE FOR SOMEBODY ELSE. THERE IS, MR. SPEAKER, ONE WAY TO AVOID THIS. IT IS ONE OF THE THINGS OUR RESEARCH, H.R. 3144, WOULD PURSUE, THAT IS WAITING A LITTLE LATER TO TAKE THIS CELL. I'M NOT SURE FOR ALL THE REASONS THAT THEY TAKE THE CELL AT THE EIGHT-CELL STAGE, BUT THAT IS THE CONVENTION.
IF YOU WAITED TO TAKE THAT CELL FROM THE INNER CELL MASS STAGE, WHICH IS A LITTLE LATER, A FEW DAYS LATER, THEN THE DIFFERENTIATION IS HAS ALREADY OCCURRED TO THE POINT THAT THE CELLS IN THE INNER CELL MASS WHICH CAN PRODUCE THE WHOLE BABY, BUT THEY CAN'T PRODUCE A BABY BY IMPLANTATION BECAUSE THEY HAVE LOST THE ABILITY TO PRODUCE DECIDUA.
SO YOU HAVE NOW REMOVED THAT POSSIBLE ETHICAL ARGUMENT.
ALTHOUGH THOSE WHO WROTE THE WHITE PAPER ON THE ALTERNATIVE SOURCES OF HUMAN PLURIPOTENT STEM CELLS DON'T BELIEVE YOU CAN DO THIS. IF THERE IS ANY POSSIBILITY YOU CAN DO THIS, THOSE WHOSE SENSITIVITIES WOULD BE OFFENDED BY THIS, IF YOU COULD DEMONSTRATE YOU TAKE IT FROM THE INNER CELL MASS STAGE NOW YOU HAVE BYPASSED EVEN THAT. OUR BILL, H.R. 3144, IS A BILL THAT LOOKS, FOR THE MOMENT, ONLY AT ANIMAL EXPERMENTATION.
WE BELIEVE BEFORE YOU GO TO HUMANS YOU OUGHT TO KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING IS GOING TO WORK AND THAT IT HAS WORKED AND THE BEST WAY TO DO THAT IS GO TO ANIMALS AND NONHUMAN PRIMATES, THE BIG APES, WHICH GENETICALLY, BY THE WAY, ARE REMARKABLY CLOSE TO HUMANS. IT MAY BE EMBARRASSING TO LOOK AT THE GENETIC COMPLEMENT OF THE GREAT APES.
THERE ISN'T ALL THAT MUCH DIFFERENCE. ONCE WE DEMONSTRATE IT THERE WE COULD HAVE MORE CERTAINTY IT IS GOING TO WORK IN HUMANS.
WHAT WE DON'T NEED, MR. SPEAKER, IS FOR MILLIONS OF AMERICANS FEEL THEIR LAST BEST HOPE FOR A CURE FOR A RELATIVE HAS BEEN REMOVED WHEN THE PRESIDENT VETOS H.R. 810 AND ITS SENATE COMPLEMENT WHICH HE HAS SAID HE WILL DO AND I HOPE HE DOES, IT IS THE ETHICAL THING TO DO. WE NEED HAVE THIS BILL ON THE PRESIDENT'S DESK SO THE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE THERE IS A POTENTIALLY A LOT OF APPLICATIONS IN HEALTH CARE WILL KNOW THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT BELIEVES WITH THEM THAT THIS IS POSSIBLE, THAT WE ARE GOING TO SUPPORT RESPONSIBLE, ETHICAL, RESEARCH. USING CELLS TAKEN FROM EARLY EMBRYOS THAT DO NOT KILL THE EMBRYO, DON'T HARM THE EMBRYO.
AS A MATTER OF FACT, IF, MR. SPEAKER, WE GET THOSE SURPLUS CELLS FROM THE REPAIR IT CAN, THE PARENTS HAVE MADE TWO DECISIONS WHICH I THINK AND I BELIEVE MOST AMERICANS WILL THINK ARE ETHICAL.
ONE IS TO HAVE THEIR OWN BABY THE ONLY WAY TO DO IT IS IN VITRO. SECONDLY, TO ESTABLISH A REPAIR IT CAN SO ANY TIME DURING ITS LIFE THEIR CHILD IS GOING TO HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR NEW TISSUES, NEW ORGANS, NEW CELLS. IT IS GOING TO BE THEM SO THERE WILL BE NO REJECTION.
MR. SPEAKER, WHAT WE SAW LAST NIGHT I HOPE RESULTS IN A VERY POSITIVE EVENTUALITY.
I HOPE H.R. 810 AND ITS SENATE COMPLEMENT GETS TO THE PRESIDENT'S DESK THAT ALSO ON HIS DESK IS H.R. 3144 SO THAT THE PRESIDENT CAN SAY, TODAY I PROUDLY SIGN A BILL WHICH PROVIDES FOR RESEARCH THAT HAS THE POTENTIAL OF PRODUCING EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS FOR ALL THE MIRACULOUS APPLICATIONS TO HEALTH CARE THAT CITIZENS ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY BELIEVE. BECAUSE IN STATE AFTER STATE NOW THEY ARE VOTING IN REF RENDA, SOMETIMES IN THE LEGISLATURE, SOMETIMES WITH JUST THE PEOPLE TO PROVIDE LARGE AMOUNTS OF MONEY STATEWIDE BECAUSE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS NOT DOING IT AND THEY BELIEVE THERE IS BIG POTENTIAL THERE. I HOPE IN THE NOT TOO DISTANT FUTURE WE WILL BE USING FEDERAL FUNDS TO SUPPORT RESPONSIBLE, ETH COOL, EMBRYONIC STEM CELL RESEARCH. H.R. 3144 WILL DO IT.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MR. SPEAKER. I YIELD BACK THE BALANCE OF MY
