A Question of Ethics

You may have heard today that Congress has just voted in favor of legislation to federally fund embryonic stem cell research. You can read more details about the vote here.

I have said before on this blog that I am against this kind of research since I believe that an embryo is in fact a human that is created with a soul by God at the moment of conception. As a consequence of this the value of one's life is not measured according to its ability to act but has immeasurable value by virtue of its existence.

I think the arguments in favor of this research is another part of the ongoing trend that regards human beings as resources to be used when expedient and discarded when they become unnecessary or inconvenient. A society that measures the value of life based on its 'usefulness' or 'viability' is ultimately a dystopian society.

Proponents of this research who do assign value to embryonic life might argue that the benefits would far exceed the ethical cost of destroying these embryos, but is that cost something that we are willing to pay? How can you empirically measure the value of a human life? While we certainly can grasp the potential benefits I do not believe that we fully comprehend the cost.

A common objection raised to opponents of the research is 'the embryos are going to be destroyed anyway, so why should they die in vain?' This still does not change the fact that intentional harm (and subsequent death) is inflicted on the embryos during the extraction process.

It is possible that this research could lead to great advances in medical science, but there is no concrete proof that it will deliver on its promises. While I disagree with the President on most things I hope that he follows through on his veto threat.