Is embryonic stem-cell research murder?
DALLAS (BP) – Does the destruction of human embryos amount to murder? White House spokesman Tony Snow put this question on the front burner recently when he described President Bush’s position as follows: “The president believes strongly that for the purpose of research it’s inappropriate for the federal government to finance something that many people consider murder. He’s one of them. The simple answer is he thinks murder’s wrong.” On a subsequent edition of “Meet the Press,” Tim Russert had a testy exchange with White House chief of staff Josh Bolten on the issue. Russert pressed Bolten on whether Bush really thinks the destruction of embryos amounts to murder. Bolten’s backpedaling made clear that Snow perhaps had gone beyond what the president himself believes. And indeed, Snow followed by apologizing for the mischaracterization, saying he “overstated the president’s position.” The question remains, however: Does the destruction of human embryos amount to murder? As a legal questi
