Embryonic stem cell research: a truly Faustian bargainIn the debate on whether or not the federal government should fund embryonic stem cell research (ESCR), at our Country is offered a real Faustian pact. In exchange for the hoped-for potential – it is nothing more than this – of achieving desperately desired medical breakthroughs in the treatment of diseases such as Parkinson's disease, paraplegia and diabetes, we are asked to give the nation's imprimatur to the reduction of human life in a mere natural resource to be exploited and commodified. Given what is at stake, our lawmakers owe it to their country to take the time to fully understand the issue before speaking publicly and taking a stand. Unfortunately, the statements of some senators in favor of embryo research showed incredible ignorance regarding the topic on which they spoke. To make matters worse, the press quickly seized on the statements of these pro-life senators as evidence that embryo research is moral, ethical, and scientifically justified, when in fact the opposite is true. Senator Hatch's attempt to explain his pro-ESCR funding position to Chris Matthews, on Hardball on June 20, proved to not distinguish an embryo from a stem cell. Take the following affirmations:* “After a long period of study and prayer, I have discovered that pluripotent cells are not full-fledged human beings, but they can be very, very useful as they are used by science to help with all kinds of diseases ....”* “It is appropriate to use pluripotent cells, but it is inappropriate to use totipotent cells because a pluripotent cell cannot be transformed into a complete human being. A totipotent cell can actually be replicated into a human being even through cloning.” (Totipotent cells are the first to appear after fertilization and can actually develop into a completely new embryo - as happens during identical twinning. Pluripotent [stem] cells appear a little later. They are "undifferentiated cells" that can develop anywhere in the body — which is why researchers want to study them.)* “Life begins in the womb, not in a refrigerator.”(Embryonic) Arguing that the feds should fund the study of pluripotent cells but not totipotent cells, the Senator Hatch has confused several essential points. First, pluripotent cells and totipotent cells are not the same thing as the embryo itself. Rather, these cells are constituent parts of the embryonic whole, just as vital organs are parts of people born.