I favor federal funding of stem-cell research, but now I am scared to death--of my allies. The case they (and I) have made is simple: stem cells, possessing in theory the capacity to replace almost any damaged or defective tissue in the body, have a great potential for good. Although deriving stem cells may require destroying a five-day-old human embryo, this "blastocyst" is usually taken from fertility clinics, where it is going to be discarded anyway. It's not as if--or so we have been saying--we are wantonly creating human embryos only to destroy them for research.
Not so. It turns out...
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