Is there a difference between embryonic stem cells and stem cell lines?
Scientists and moralists make the distinction between embryos, embryonic stem cells which are obtained by the killing of the embryo, stem cell lines which are developed from either embryonic or adult stem cells and products that are prepared from stem cell lines. There is a range of moral judgments relative to each of these specific aspects of stem cell research. In this pastoral reflection we are concentrating on human embryos and the moral prohibition against their destruction to produce stem cells for research. What about the use of government funding for embryonic stem cell research? Government funding would further encourage researchers to destroy human embryos. We must oppose the use of our tax dollars for research that involves the destruction of human life. When we enter the realm of public policy, each of us has an obligation to speak up and to take a stand for human life. We cannot proceed down the road of scientific development without sufficient moral reflection and ethical
