Maureen L. Condic

A true, no-cost resolution of a conflict, where the interests of all parties are served without compromise, is an exceedingly rare thing. Yet just such an unlikely resolution may be in hand for one of the most acrimonious conflicts of recent times: the debate over human embryonic stem cells. . . . . Continue Reading »

Just before Thanksgiving, news broke about a new stem-cell technique that could produce the equivalent of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) but without using or destroying human embryos. We referred to the news that these cells, called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), could be made from human skin . . . . Continue Reading »

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Positions on human embryonic stem-cell research tend to fall into two camps: Either anything goes, or nothing goes. Proponents of the anything-goes position assert that the potential scientific and medical benefits of embryonic stem-cell research override all other considerations”and . . . . Continue Reading »

The question of when human life commences is one of longstanding philosophical and scientific interest. In our day it has been thrust into the realm of immediate urgency by advances in embryonic stem cell and cloning technologies. The question is taken up by Jane Maienschein in Whose View of Life? . . . . Continue Reading »

What defines the beginning of human life? This question has been the topic of considerable legal and social debate over the years since the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision”debate that has only been intensified by the recent controversies over human embryonic stem cells and human . . . . Continue Reading »

We have all witnessed the transforming power of hope—the focus and sustenance hope provides when strength and reason fail to pull us through a difficult situation. Facing tragedy and loss, hope is often the only thing standing between us and the void. Life-threatening illnesses or injuries . . . . Continue Reading »

In August of last year, President Bush approved the use of federal funds to support research on a limited number of existing human embryonic stem cell lines. The decision met with notably mixed reactions. Proponents of embryonic stem cell research argue that restricting federal funding to a limited . . . . Continue Reading »