Stem Sell Nonsense [SK]

Jivin J has a great post that raises three questions pro-ESCR advocates Amie Newman and Rick Weiss fail to answer. First, if the embryos in question are not human beings, why have any restrictions on ESCR? Second, why these particualr proposed restrictions rather than others? Third, what's the proper relationship between science and ethics?

Jivin writes:

While Newman struggles to understand the difference between science and ethics, Weiss fails to provide reasons for why his suggested restrictions should be in place in the first place. Why only provide funding for research on cell lines from human embryos created for reproductive purposes? Why do the embryos have to be in excess of medical need and slated for destruction? Why shouldn’t the federal government provide funding for research on cell lines created from human embryos who were created with the intention of killing them for their cells?

His piece doesn’t even attempt to answer these questions. There seems to be no ethical anchor for his position. If killing human embryos for research isn’t ethically wrong, then why are stem cells derived from human embryos created solely for research not “ethically derived human embryonic stem cells?”

Read the whole post.