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To: KLP who wrote (184413)	10/28/2006 3:15:52 PM
From: Rambi	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 793738

Fox evidently thinks that it is OK to harvest embryonic stem cells up to the instance the baby is actually born This is a very harsh statement, KLP. Did you read this somewhere? I thought the issue was unused fertilized cells from in vitro that were as yet undifferentiated and will be destroyed anyway. It's a very long way from that to ripping babies from wombs at 8 and 99/100 months. The ethical argument is still there (when does life begin) but you have taken it to an extreme that no one is proposing, and I rather doubt Fox is, but if you read that, I will believe you. A stem cell is any cell that can be kept dividing in vitro -- in a cell culture -- for an indefinite period, and which also has the ability to develop into various different kinds of specialized cells. Stem cells differ in terms of just how broad a range of cells they can become. So-called "totipotent" stem cells can become any kind of cell in the adult body, from hair and nerves to muscle and bone, whereas merely "multipotent" stem cells are capable of becoming a narrower range of cells. It is the classic example of totipotent stem cells, the undifferentiated interior cells of very early embryos, which are the focus of controversy. What the new NIH guidelines allow is research using stem cells isolated from human embryos, but only embryos created in fertility clinics and destined to be discarded. Excerpt from the Touchstone- and yes, I know it is liberal. rtis.com