Word: petry
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...wants to come out in favor of “reproductive cloning,” in which a cloned embryo would actually be implanted in the womb and then brought to term. But “therapeutic cloning,” which involves creating embryos in a petri dish, letting them grow just long enough to extract stem cells, and then killing them, is being hailed as a morally acceptable—nay, laudable—step forward for what is inevitably referred to as “scientific progress...
...human beings at all. After all, we are told repeatedly, they are just a “clump of cells,” and killing them is no different from disposing of a patch of dry skin or clipping your toenails. Besides, they’re in petri dishes, and what kind of human beings live in petri dishes? Not you or I, certainly. Embryos don’t have feelings, they aren’t self-conscious, and they certainly don’t have cute little faces—ergo, they aren’t human...
...which point of view, one wonders, is more irrational—the view that an individual and unique homo sapiens comes into existence at conception (it does—ask any scientist), or the view that embryos only “become human” when they leave the petri dish and are implanted in the uterus? What exactly is the magic of location, anyway...
...recently faced. Yet lawmakers should not use the difficulty of navigating ethical shoals as an excuse to ban the procedure. The potential medical benefits of stem cells created through “therapeutic cloning” are significant, and the procedure—which takes place in a petri dish—is ethically acceptable. Congress should establish procedures for the oversight and regulation of such research where necessary. It should not place a ban on promising scientific research out of a vague feeling of discomfort...
...infection, the agency could halt a stem-cell procedure if it felt the human patient was at risk of getting an animal virus. The news sparked renewed calls for the President to loosen his policy and allow further harvesting from embryos, this time without using animal tissue in the Petri dish. Senator John Kerry warns that if federal dollars aren't made available for new cell lines, Congress may yet wrest the policy from the White House. Just when you thought the fight was over...