They Deserve Respect but Kill'em Anyways

During his speech in favor of H.R. 810 and expanding the federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, Bill Frist said this:

I am pro-life. I believe human life begins at conception. It is at this moment that the organism is complete -- yes, immature -- but complete. An embryo is nascent human life. It’s genetically distinct. And it’s biologically human. It’s living. This position is consistent with my faith. But, to me, it isn’t just a matter of faith. It’s a fact of science.

Our development is a continuous process -- gradual and chronological. We were all once embryos. The embryo is human life at its earliest stage of development. And accordingly, the human embryo has moral significance and moral worth. It deserves to be treated with the utmost dignity and respect.

I also believe that embryonic stem cell research should be encouraged and supported. But, just as I said in 2001, it should advance in a manner that affords all human life dignity and respect -- the same dignity and respect we bring to the table as we work with children and adults to advance the frontiers of medicine and health.

Did anyone else notice the huge gap in reasoning between the second and third paragraphs above. According to Frist, the human embryo is a living, developing human being which has moral significance and worth and deserves to be treated with dignity and respect yet he supports a bill which encourages the continuing destruction of these morally significant human beings.

The plain reality that Frist purposely ignores is that embryonic stem cell research can't be encouraged and supported in a way that affords all human life with dignity and respect. Embryonic stem cell research and the extraction of embryonic stem cells requires that one class of human beings be treated as mere commodities.

Can you imagine someone who claims to be an animal rights activist saying, "I believe that all bunny rabbits regardless of size or level of development have moral worth and deserve to be treated with respect. I also believe that it should be legal to intentionally kill these bunny rabbits for no other reason than to experiment on their parts. I also think that federal tax dollars should pay for these experiments on bunny rabbit parts even if they require the continual destruction of bunny rabbits."