Mr. Speaker I rise in support of this bill to override the President’s veto of HR 810.

It is really unfortunate that this veto and other opposition to the bill are borne out of misinformation about the issue at hand.

Under HR 810, the embryos from which stem cells are extracted for research come from In Vitro Fertilization only.

Each year thousands of embryos, no bigger than the head of a pin, are created in the process of In Vitro Fertilization. 

A small percentage of these embryos are implanted and hopefully will grow into our children. 

The rest will be frozen or discarded. 

They will not be used to create life.

They will never become children. 

They will be lost without purpose. 

But HR 810 gives them purpose.

And the majority of Members in both the House and Senate affirmed their support for enhancing our use of stem cells in research because they understand that purpose.

Maybe it really isn’t that surprising that President Bush has vetoed this bill because he doesn’t understand.

And it is consistent with his signing into law other bills that cut funding for medical research, deny proper funding for veterans’ health care and decrease our nation’s ability to confront true health crises.

This Administration has ignored and twisted science in a variety of areas – everything from global warming to abstinence education.

The refusal to acknowledge the scientific value of embryonic stem cell research is one more tragic misstep.

Let’s not be the embarrassment of the world yet again.

Let’s affirm our commitment to saving lives by overriding this veto.

Let’s untie the hands of scientists on the verge of cures for the world’s most devastating diseases.

I urge my colleagues to support this measure.

And I yield back.

Pictured above: (center) Congresswoman Capps meets with Central Coast firefighters to discuss emergency preparedness.