Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions today. The first is with regard to the funding of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and is signed by a number of Canadians, including from my own riding of Mississauga South.
The petitioners would like to draw to the attention of the House that it is unethical to harm or destroy some human beings in order to benefit others. They also want to point out that adult stem cell research holds enormous potential and does not pose the serious threat that embryonic stem cells do with regard to the ethical or immune problems.
They also point out that CIHR, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, had recommended guidelines on stem cell research that include the use of human embryos.
The petitioners therefore call upon Parliament to ban embryonic stem cell research and direct the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to support and fund only promising ethical research that does not involve the destruction of human life.