Vito Fossella; I'm surprised.
He's generally pro-life-especially in comparison to his predecessor in office-but not an absolutist-for better or worse-on most social issues.
My problem with this subject-and this was alluded to in Ramesh's NR piece-is that it's so often framed within the parameters of a debate between implacably anti-science, religiously orthodox Luddites-a la Steve Reich-and enlightened, progressive forces that only want to enrich the lives of desperately impaired Americans suffering incomparable grief and pain as a result of chronic illnesses.
I take issue with this notion, since it doesn't take into account the moral dimensions inherent in bioethics, and dismisses legitimate moral concerns that arise from both religious and non-theist individuals who don't believe that human beings-or incipient life-should be tampered with in order to further the aims of scientific research, no matter how valuable such scientific discoveries might be.
Even if you accept the premise that embryonic stem cell research will ultimately prove more profitable than other less objectionable alternatives, e.g. adult stem cell and blood cord research, rather than merely a biomedical dead-end, as was the case with the equally promising-but ultimately fruitless-field of fetal tissue research several years ago, that still doesn't resolve the crux of the problem, which is the existing conflict between exigent medical needs and longstanding ethical qualms about reducing the amount of respect accorded to potential human life.
I don't think you have to be of a particularly conspiratorial mindset to extrapolate from what the government is being asked to do now, i.e. rescind any and all restrictions placed upon embryonic stem cell research, and perhaps endorse therapeutic cloning, to a future scenario where the federal government has put its imprimatur of acceptance on mass harvesting of human embryos for any and every conceivable reason, including-quite possibly-merely for cosmetic purposes.
The advocates for these sorts of procedures place a premium on the duration and quality of life, which are indeed very important, but the quality of an individual's life doesn't necessarily encompass the entire sweep of humanity.