The pro-life movement has never been opposed to responsible medical research.  But we also know that there is no more evil or dangerous force on earth than science without morality.  Whether fetal tissue research or embryonic stem cell research is morally defensible or not is dependent on how the tissue and cells are obtained.  If the material comes from umbilical cords, or placenta, or from babies who died in some natural manner (miscarriage, stillbirth, accident, etc.) few people would raise a moral objection.

However, America crossed the line when it began using parts taken from babies who were intentionally killed by abortion, and we obliterated the line when we began creating human life for the stated purpose of destroying it and using it in medical experiments.    

Imagine that a team of researchers developed a drug that would cure cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.  This miracle drug is produced from a chemical found in healthy people between 15 and 55 years old and the amount needed to treat the entire country would require only about 500 donors per year.  Additionally, clinical trials proved that the drug was 100% effective and perfectly safe.  

The only downside is that harvesting this chemical always kills the donor.  So the issue becomes, given that millions of people could be saved, should we create a national lottery to select 500 people a year to be killed to make the drug?  Out of a population of millions, each individual’s chances of being selected are tiny and some would have died from accidents or illness anyway.  Besides, a certain number of them would not have led productive lives. 

So why not sacrifice a handful of these people every year in order to save millions from the horror of cancer, heart disease and diabetes?  All we have to do is be willing to say that where the chemical comes from is irrelevant, which is precisely what some people are currently saying about fetal tissue research and embryonic stem cell research. 

Don’t for a moment think that the hypothetical situation above is far-fetched.  If we could go back 50 years and tell people what’s happening right now in the field of medical research and bio-technology, they would call us insane.  They would never believe that the things we see happening every day all around us would ever be tolerated in this country.  And only a fool would think this is anything other than the tip of the iceberg.

Some people try to rationalize embryonic stem cell research by suggesting that it is a way to “make something good” come from abortion.  They argue that these children are already dead and are going to be discarded whether we exploit them or not.  The moment we buy into that philosophy, we become no different than the Nazi thugs who stole the gold fillings from the teeth of Jews they killed in their concentration camps. 

The fact is, it is morally repugnant that we intentionally slaughter these innocent unborn children in the first place, and when we rob their graves trying to make our lives better, we disgrace ourselves even further.  So, if the question is whether we should “discard” these dead babies instead of using them in medical experiments designed to benefit us, the answer is an unqualified yes.  We have no right to profit from our own evil.