On the far-fetched theory that embryonic stem-cell research destroys tiny little babies, President Bush vetoed legislation today that would have eased federal funding for such research.Bush's reasoning brings to mind a song from the movie "Monty Python's The Meaning of Life," the chorus of which goes like this:
Every sperm is sacred
Every sperm is great
If a sperm is wasted
God gets quite irate
The truth of the matter is that the embryos used in stem-cell research are not derived from eggs fertilized in women's bodies. They are fertilized in vitro, in a clinic, with the informed consent of the donors.
The typical embryo in such research is a four- or five-day-old microscopic cluster of cells called a "blastocyst." A blastocyst consists of about 150 cells. The brain of a fly, in comparison, consists of more than 100,000 cells.
If stem-cell research on blastocysts is immoral, as Bush contends, why doesn't he call for a law against it? Why does he content himself with merely blocking federal funding? Why aren't America's Catholic bishops leading a march on Washington to demand a total ban on embryonic stem-cell research? If every blastocyst is sacred, like every sperm in the Monty Python song, why are the pro-lifers so seemingly apathetic about embryonic stem-cell research that's not funded by the federal government?
