Why do some people oppose embryonic stem cell research?
The Catholic Church is the largest of several conservative Christian organizations which oppose embryonic stem cell research because they believe that life begins as soon as an egg is fertilized. They maintain that embryonic stem cell research is wrong because harvesting these cells kills the living human embryo. The Catholic Church opposes most forms of in vitro fertilization and the direct destruction of human life for any purpose, including research [Source: Michigan Catholic Conference Focus, February 2005].
