Smoking Out the Truth
What (Most) Stem-Cell Researchers Really Want
October 7, 2005

It was the kind of news that should have had scientists jumping for joy.

A few weeks ago, the journal Science announced a major breakthrough in stem-cell research: A Harvard research team had found a way to create embryonic-type stem cells without the need to create and kill embryos, raising all those moral questions.

This is tremendous news. Researchers have told us for years that embryonic stem cells are vitally important in the race to find cures for a host of diseases. And now, they have the means of creating embryonic-type stem cells that won’t kill human embryos—something most Americans object to. So why aren’t they breaking out the champagne? The probable reason, as Princeton Professor Robert George puts it, is “ominous.” The rest