Embryonic stem cell research involves the use of stem cells extracted from human embryos, which are human fetuses in the early stages of life.

In our current moral and political climate, it is a perfectly legal and everyday event for human fetuses to be murdered in America under the term known as abortion. It is becoming more common for “aborted” fetuses to be recycled and resold as specimens for medical research in a fashion similar to that reserved for lab rats and monkeys. It’s even more common these days for the federal government to fund studies using embryonic stem cells with the money of taxpayers who come from a broad and shifting moral plateau.

The national debate concerning embryonic stem cell research lies largely with the federal funding aspect of the issue.

Both sides of the abortion debate have long ago adopted a fight-to-the-end position on the matter, which is why one wouldn’t expect a compromise on whether to federally fund embryonic stem cell research. A compromise did arrive though, when during the summer of 2001 in the form of political maneuvering, President Bush allowed for limited federal funding for stem cell research. Strings attached helped ensure that only research conducted on previously stored embryos would receive federal money. This concession is outrageous, given the fact that many Americans are opposed to any sort of embryonic stem cell research, especially with their own tax money. Hundreds of millions of dollars have already been spent on unregulated embryonic stem cell research in the private sector with much more being made available. Imagine the market for destroyed human embryos as a result of the medical and the science communities’ growing hunger for stem cell related cures to beat big diseases. Embryonic stem cells were only isolated in 1998 and there is still much research to be conducted in order to understand the new potential. Even with federal funding, there is plenty of work to be done.

Unfortunately, the fact of the matter is that embryonic stem cell treatments for Alzheimer’s, heart disease and paralysis are years away at best.

Another misconception involving stem cell research is the idea that only human embryos contain stem cells.

Although embryonic stem cells are the most publicized, there are actually two kinds of stem cell research that are currently conducted, with the other kind known as adult stem cells. Adult stem cell research involves removing stem cells from developed human tissue, most commonly bone marrow from the hipbone. These stem cells have been researched and used to treat people with a variety of blood problems for over four decades. Current treatments involving adult stem cells are helping people fight blood disorders including lymphoma and leukemia. Promising research shows that adult stem cells might be able to do more than the scientific community originally thought.

There is no question that embryonic stem cell research will lead to more findings that could possibly help cure certain ailments. The question at issue is whether the federal government has the right to use taxpayer dollars to pursue this quest. Because of the fact that a large part of the American public is against stem cell research, it is unfair to use their money in this manner. It is reprehensible that politicians have disregarded the wishes and beliefs of most Americans in order to gain a few extra election votes from those outside of their party.

The unfortunate reality of our times is that a pro-life Republican president who claims to be a compassionate conservative seems more inclined to use the most helpless members of our society as a political bargaining chip. One can only imagine what a Massachusetts liberal would do if elected president.

Harvesting slaughtered human beings in any form for any reason is a crime against humanity. The U.S. government should at the very least prohibit federal funding for this atrocity masquerading as research.