Embryonic Stem Cell Hubris

Here's a strong second for Will Saletan's dismay at some of the rhetoric around removing the ban on federal money for embryonic stem cell research:

Think about what's being dismissed here as "politics" and "ideology." You don't have to equate embryos with full-grown human beingsI don'tto appreciate the danger of exploiting them. Embryos are the beginnings of people. They're not parts of people. They're the whole thing, in very early form. Harvesting them, whether for research or medicine, is different from harvesting other kinds of cells. It's the difference between using an object and using a subject. How long can we grow this subject before dismembering it to get useful cells? How far should we strip-mine humanity in order to save it?

I don't believe the Bush administration's policy was "ideological" as opposed to "factual." It was based on ethical concerns about people paying for what they believe is immoral. You may disagree with this position, but you should respect it.