1. It is not a human being

False. The National Institute of Health stated in their Report of the Human Embryo Research Panel in 1994 that “the preimplantation human embryo warrants serious moral consideration as a developing form of human life.” In 1999 the National Bioethics Advisory Commission concurred in their Ethical Issues in Human Stem Cell Research citing broad agreement in our society that “human embryos deserve respect as a form of human life.” In 2002 the National Academy of Sciences acknowledged in Scientific and Medical Aspects of Human Reproductive Cloning that “in medical terms,” the embryo is a “developing human from fertilization” onwards. Dr John Wyatt, a British professor of neonatal pediatrics, said: “The redefinition of human embryos as mere biological material or ‘totipotent stem cells’ in order to allay public concerns smacks of semantic trickery rather than responsible debate.”

2. It is not a human being because it does not have a soul. St. Thomas Aquinas said so.

False. James Aiken states in When Babies Get Their Souls , “It is sometimes claimed that Thomas Aquinas believed that the unborn did not acquire a soul until several weeks after conception. This is not true. Aquinas believed that the unborn had a soul (a rational, human soul) from the time it was conceived.” However, following Aristotelian science, he (and a few other Western writers) thought that conception was an extended process that did not finish until forty or ninety days into the pregnancy: “The conception of the male finishes on the fortieth day and that of the woman on the ninetieth, as Aristotle says in the IX Book of the Animals” (Aquinas, Commentary on III Sentences 3:5:2). Aquinas was correct that the unborn receive their souls at conception; he was merely mistaken on when conception was finished, due to the lack of available science.

3. Embryonic Stem Cells hold more promise than Adult Stem Cells in curing disease.

False. Adult stem cells have been effective in the treatment of 56 human diseases. Embryonic stem cells have not produced a single success. In fact, embryonic stem cells when used in laboratory experiments have produced tumors and genetic defects.

4. Adult Stem Cells are restricted to the type of stem cell from which they are harvested.

False. In the February 2005 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Dr. Douglas W. Losordo, a Tufts University cardiologist, reported on research that used human bone marrow cells. Tests suggested that the bone marrow cells were capable of morphing into various other cells of the human body. Researchers were able to repair cardiac muscle in laboratory animals and grow nerve-like cells in laboratory dishes. Dr. Losordo stated, “I think embryonic stem cells are going to fade in the rearview mirror of adult stem cells. [Bone Marrow] is like a repair kit. Nature provided us with these tools to repair organ damage.” Similar success has been had with adult stems cells derived from fat cells, nasal cells and other adult stem cells.

Dr. Maureen L. Condic, an Assistant Professor of Neurobiology and Anatomy at the University of Utah, working on the regeneration of adult and embryonic neurons following spinal cord injury, states, “In light of the serious problems associated with embryonic stem cells and the relatively unfettered promise of adult stem cells, there is no compelling scientific argument for the public support of reasearch on human embryos.”

5. Only the right-wing religious fanatics oppose embryonic stem cell research.

False. Many feminists and pro-abortion organizations oppose embryonic stem cell research. The number of female eggs that would be needed to conduct such research could lead to the further exploitation of women, particularly women in poor countries. Such women would be required to undergo hormone therapy to produce eggs for medical research. It is unlikely that women, particulary in third world countries, would have the medical resources available to them should there be complications from such a procedure.