I find it hard to believe that with such views you are blogging for the GOP? What you write is offensive to those of us that do not see this as you do. Also, you are skewed if you the majority of Americans are for stem cell research. Those of us--so please do not speak for us -- like the President do not believe in 'taking' human life--to 'preserve' human life.

THERE IS NO BAN ON EITHER EMBRYONIC OR ADULT STEM CELL RESEARCH. Okay with that shouted to the rooftops, let me say that I disagree with your post in the strongest possible terms. I actively support stem cell research. I think it is needed. I think it will be a wonderful addition to science and the the miracle cure for terrible maladies. I DO NOT support the government being in the stem cell reserch business. In fact, the last entity that should be involved is the government. President Bush did the right thing.

I am with Layla on this one. Cripes, Jonathan. What's next - you going to come down in favor of federal subsidies for abortion as well? Embryotic stem cell research itself is not banned - just using federal dollars to create new *ahem* 'materials' - i.e. unborn babies. Yeesh.

Your logic is mindnumbingly obtuse (I just like the phrase so much that I thought I'd use it too; here's another) and philosophically bankrupt.

The country has a lot of serious issues to deal with and it unfortunate that Republican's are practicing a liberal fiscal policy, but passing this law would have done nothing for votes, except encourage social conservatives--37% of the party--to stay home this November.

They may anyway in districts where Senators and House members voted in favor of ESCR.

Yes, harvesting the human babies so as to provide life extension to the rest of us is just too gruesome to me. I'm sickened that our society has turned into some bad 1950's horror movie with an evil mad scientist twist.

As part of an agreement for infertility therapy you get to choose between freeze forever, donate, or let it die and discard. A million babies have been born this way. Wonder what happened to the rest of the embryos created in the process. That is truly a horror. All so some rich arrogant couple can have another brat. That is the crime. With this barbaric process there would be not embryos to use in stem cell research.

listen to modernone. If you are all against stem cell research then you should also be vehemently against fertility clinics. ESC lines come from material stored at fertility clinics which is already slated for destruction. Preventing these blastocysts from being used for research won't 'save' them. It simply means they'll be disposed of in a medical waste facility instead of being used to find cures for disease - and W. has openly praised Fertility Clinics for their work...this makes sense to you?

Yes GOP'd it doesn't make sense to me. There have been some things I don't agree with GWB on (Immigration, Spending, Harriet Myers). I don't agree with fertility clinics either. In fact, some of my friends have chosen to not have children simply because of what they do with the extra embryos.

I'm saddened at the intelligence of common Republicans. Yes, there is a ban on harvesting stem cells from human embryos. Currently they can only use cells from existing lines and that number is miniscule at best. They're almost 7 years old now and most are polluted by bad genetic material and other proteins. There are not viable alternatives to these cells that have been able to work in the same manner as embryonic cells.
Hopefully one day we can shed the stigma of dismal scientific understanding of our great republican party. But as it is today we are faced with the stigma of unfledged understanding and ignorance. Please people, wake up and start researching before you talk. The blogger is right.