Bernice:

> I agree that an embryo is a human being but if it can be proved that THAT embryo isn't going to have an excellent quality
> of life for some reason unbeknown to people like us who know nothing about this, then I think stem cell research should
> be a priority to help those in need.

Most of the embrios used in stem cell research are frozen embrios remaining from in vitro fertilization. The embrios are frozen and kept for several years in case the parents decide to have more children. After several years frozen, the parents are asked what they want to do with the embrios. If the parents opt to have no more children then embrios are supposed to be thawed, effectively killing them. If the parents provide consent, the embrios can be donated to stem cell research.

Other avenues to obtaining human stem cells have not been as successful. Scientists have tried to clone stem cell, thus eliminating the need to harvest them from embrios. As I understand to date the experiments have not been successful. Scientists have extracted stem cells from some tissues, particularly skin and umbilical cord. However, it seems that the adaptability of the stem cells is not as fruitful as it is with embrionic stem cells.

It is a difficult thing because we are dealing with potential human life. Even though many of those embrios were condemned to be destroyed, it is still difficult to think in terms of a potential life being used to save another.

I suppose that if the government were to invest heavily in cloning stem cells, scientists might succeed. Then we have another can of worms being opened: Embrionic cloning.