show_no_mercy

*Mods: I dunno if this belongs in MF&P or S&S so move accordingly*

Are they really in the same category? Is Embryonic Stem Cell research as "immoral" as abortion, or are they simply two different categories?

AFAIK, stem cells are fertilized outside of a womb so it's not really abortion - though I could be wrong...

MonCapitan2002

As far as I am concerned neither act is immoral.

His Noodly Appendage

afaiknew, they were simply using pre-aborted embryos - the worry apparently being that people would start getting pregnant especially so that they could then get an abortion and sell the resulting stem cells.

Why this can't be dealt with by simply making the donation entirely voluntary, with no remuneration... I have no idea.

JerryM

The whole conflict over abortion/ES cells depends on what you think is the status of a fertilized egg.

Some people think that a zygote, however it becomes fertile--whether by IVF or by nuclear cell transfer--is a "person." So destroying it by harvesting stem cells is killing a person. Not abortion, strictly speaking, but still an act of murder.

To me, a fertilized egg is just that--a fertilized egg. It's no more a "person" than an acorn is an oak tree.

But, there still is no clear societal consensus on when embryonic life acquires the legal status of "personhood." And that is the basis for all the debate.

atechnie

I don't consider either immoral, but to answer your question, I see them as two different categories. I just don't understand how a zygote or a couple of cells or, in fact, anything without a brain can be called a person, much less life.

-atechnie

Reign_Cryogen

Just to wax pedantic a bit; it's life, to be sure.. but a person, absolutely not.

But I get your point, and agree.

Viti

I agree that neither act is immoral. Those that feel that personhood is established at conception disagree however.

Reign_Cryogen

They are, of course, a pack of fantastic tools.