New Hope for Stem Cell Research

ExE122 writes "A new scientific breakthrough allows scientists to harvest stem cells without harming the embryo. From the article: ''We have shown that we can not only generate stem cells without destroying the embryo, but that the remaining embryo also has the potential to go to on create a healthy blastocyst' said Dr Lanza, whose team's research is published in Nature. Asked if he expected the advance to satisfy President Bush, Dr Lanza said: 'Well, as you know, the President objects to the fact that you would be sacrificing one life to save another, and in this instance there is no harm to the embryo.''"

Comments

Re:Irrelevant

[ObsessiveMathsFreak]

Pro-life people are generally against cloning. I don't understand the objection if no embryo is destroyed, but it does bring up some difficult issues regarding souls.

Souls are a made up concept. They were created by people as a kind of adult pacifier, to stop people fretting that once they die they will entierely cease to exist. Utterly. The thought is so unsettling that people latch onto a complete fantasy to comfort and reassure themselves. Namely and intangible, unobservable, immaterial "thing" that is your "life essence", and it will go on after you die.

It's the same kind of denial as people who believe that all parallel lines never intersect of that the universe is "fair". Delve deep enough and only your own doublethink can convince you that either of these facts is absolute. Emotion is physical, memory is physical, thought is physical. There is no magic force, and if there was, eternity means floating around as an unthinking blob with no memory forever.

Oh wait! Silly me. I can't prove souls "don't" exist. Just ignore all the above and return to your regular viewing.