Stem Cell Research is an Assault on Life Essay -- Argumentative Persua

  Ã‚   Throughout the history of the cloning debate, no Administration of either party funded a research project that relies on destroying live human embryos - until President Bush in 2001 authorized limited funding for such. The Clinton Administration's plans to do so were delayed by public opposition, then halted for good reason by the Bush Administration. The federal government has now decided to partially implement the National Institutes of Health's guidelines for embryonic stem cell research. This has opened the door to broader assaults on innocent human life in the name of research. Congress and this Administration in a limited way endorse the principle that alleged research benefits outweigh the inviolable dignity of innocent human life. Attempts to prevent further abuses will likely be futile, as researchers demand more and more freedom to set aside restrictions that prevent them from realizing their dreams of conquering disease. We applauded the Administration's initial a nnouncement that it supported a complete ban on human cloning.    Most Christians have grave concerns on this critically important issue of embryonic stem cell research. In our view, conducting research that relies on deliberate destruction of human embryos for their stem cells is illegal, immoral and unnecessary.    It is illegal because it violates an appropriations rider (the Dickey amendment) passed every year since 1995 by Congress. That provision forbids funding "research in which" human embryos (whether initially created for research purposes or not) are harmed or destroyed outside the womb.(1) National Institutes of Health guidelines approved by the Clinton Administration nonetheless give researchers detailed instructions on how to ... ...eficiency (SCID)-X1 Disease," 288 Science 669-72 (28 April 2000).    16. K. Foss, "Paraplegic regains movement after cell procedure," The Globe and Mail (Toronto), June 15, 2001 at A1.    17. E. Ryan et al., "Glycemic Outcome Post Islet Transplantation," Abstract #33-LB, Annual Meeting of the American Diabetes Association, June 24, 2001. See: http://38.204.37.95/am01/AnnualMeeting/Abstracts/NumberResults.asp?idAbs=33-LB.    18. M. McCullough, "Islet transplants offer hope that diabetes can be cured," Philadelphia Inquirer, June 22, 2001 at A1.    19. D. Woodbury et al., "Adult Rat and Human Bone Marrow Stromal Cells Differentiate Into Neurons," 61 J. of Neuroscience Research 364-70 (2000) at 364 (emphasis added).    20. D. Prockop, "Stem Cell Research Has Only Just Begun" (Letter), 293 Science 211-2 (13 July 2001)(citations omitted).