Allow Stem Cell Research

ALLOW STEM CELL RESEARCH -- (House of Representatives - May 23, 2005)

(Mr. INSLEE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. INSLEE. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I met with a group of folks who are urging the House to allow commonsense, reasonable stem cell, embryonic stem cell research to continue. I talked to Dr. Charles Murray of the University of Washington Cardiovascular Regenerative Biology Center, who told us that this research some day could repair damaged hearts.

I talked to Dr. Tony Blau, a hematologist at the University of Washington, who said that they had to put some research on the shelf because of these restrictive rules that President Bush's administration has placed on this research.

I talked to Dr. Connie Davis, who works with kidney and liver transplantees, who told us about the potential that this research could bring for the health of citizens, who said, why can people not make their own decisions? When you donate a kidney or you donate embryonic cells, she said, it should be the same thing.

We should pass, tomorrow, a commonsense measure that removes these restrictions that put handcuffs on our researchers right now where we are falling behind the rest of the country. Folks who have diabetes and Parkinson's know what is at stake tomorrow. Let us pass the bill.

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