Madame Speaker, America has waited a long time for the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act.  I am proud to rise in support of H.R. 3 and to be a part of a Congress that has made this a top priority.

This legislation has strong, bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress.  It enjoys the support of up to 70 percent of Americans.  And most importantly – it offers hope and the promise of a cure to the millions of people who are living with the constant challenges and burdens of chronic diseases and disability.

Mr. Speaker, when I was injured in an accidental shooting almost 26 years ago, I was told that I would never walk again.  The promise of embryonic stem cell research was, at that time, unheard of. 

While I always held out hope that I would one day walk again, it was not until the tremendous potential and advances in the field of stem cell research that I truly understood how a cure might work. 

I am the first to admit that my understanding of stem cell research has involved ongoing education, thought and prayer.  As a pro-life Member of Congress, I have not taken my decision to support this legislation lightly. 

Over the years, I had the good fortune to learn about stem cell research from some of America’s renowned scientists, pro-life leaders like Senator Orrin Hatch, and a dear friend who is certainly on my mind today – Christopher Reeve. 

I have come to support embryonic stem cell research, because I see how it can be done ethically.  And I believe that being pro-life means fighting for legislation that will eliminate pain and suffering and help people enjoy longer, healthier lives.  My support for embryonic stem cell research is entirely consistent with a pro-life position.  

My education on this issue has filled me with tremendous hope, not only that stem cell research might one day lead to a cure for spinal cord injuries, but that one day, a child with diabetes will no longer face a lifetime of painful shots and tests.  I truly believe that one day, families will no longer watch in agony as a loved one with Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s gradually declines.  I am thrilled to be able to share this hope with millions of others. 

We live in exciting times.  Today, newly spinal cord injured patients – many of them teenagers, as I was – are told about developing treatments and scientific progress.  They face the world with many of the same challenges I faced in 1980 – but they also face the world with the hope and real promise of a cure.  

There is no doubt in my mind that stem cell research is poised to change the face of medicine.  I urge all my colleagues to vote in favor of H.R. 3.