Abortion and Beyond

Here's an excerpt from a National Review symposium. The link follows.

For during the very period that pro-lifers have been winning on one front, another has opened. If we begin to mass-produce cloned human embryos — which would be living members of our species — to be destroyed in research, we could easily undo all of our success in reducing the number of legal killings in this country. And worse: It seems highly unlikely that a society that countenances such routinized destruction of human life would limit abortion.

It is commonly said that the public favors stem-cell research. But most people do not favor human cloning, and do not favor the creation of embryos for research purposes — at least when the subject is placed before them squarely and without euphemism. It has become increasingly clear that the medical benefits sought through cloning can be gained without violating ethical principles. Stem cells derived from the reprogramming of adult cells and from amniotic fluid both show great promise. Human cloning should be banned, and these alternatives encouraged.

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MDc3MDQwMTliMmFmZGUzMzM3NjAwZjgwOTE4Yzg4OTg=