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Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005

Date: May 24, 2005
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Stem Cell Research


STEM CELL RESEARCH ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2005 -- (House of Representatives - May 24, 2005)

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Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me this time.

Mr. Speaker, the debate on stem cell research challenges all of us to think carefully about the value we place on human life. Many of us turn to our faith traditions for guidance and wisdom. None of us has the right to legislate our religious beliefs and impose them on others. But as Members look to the teachings of their faiths for guidance, I ask them to remember that not all faiths hold that stem cell research is the enemy of life. The religious traditions of many of us do not tell us that a 14-day-old blastocyst has the same moral significance as a human being and do tell us that the obligation to preserve life, which includes the obligation to cure disease and alleviate human suffering, is paramount.

I understand and respect the faith of all of my colleagues. It is a sincere faith that reveres life. I ask them to accord that same respect to the faiths of others.

Unfortunately, words have sometimes been used carelessly, and these words sometimes denigrate the faith of others. When the teachings of a faith are described as "a culture of death" because they hold that the potential to save and heal human lives is an integral part of valuing human life, that faith and its adherence are being slandered. How dare anyone slander the faiths of many Americans as "a culture of death." God does not speak to one faith alone.

We hear lots of speeches about respecting people of faith and the need to bring faith into the public square. The people who make those speeches should respect all faiths. We should vote our consciences, but we should not denigrate the faith and consciences of the millions of Americans who seek to preserve life and end suffering and who believe that embryonic stem cell research can save lives and therefore embodies the highest morality.

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