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On the other hand, religious leaders around the country are not as happy with the presidential decision. Read more about how religion views the new order in the Associated Press article “Stem cell decision exposes religious divides.”

The AP article of March 9, 2009, begins by saying, “The embryonic stem cell research debate is steeped with religious arguments, with some faith traditions convinced the research amounts to killing innocent life, others citing the moral imperative to alleviate suffering, and plenty of religious believers caught somewhere in between.”

It ends with comments from Dr. Robert George of Princeton University. The professor of politics says that the stem cell issue is not a religious issue but one steeped in ethics and equality.

The article states, “He [George] said research shows that an embryo is a human being in its earliest form of development, so we have to ask ourselves whether all human life should be treated equally, with dignity and respect.”

And, George states, “I don't think the question has anything to do with religion or pulling out our microscope and trying to find souls. We live in a pluralistic society where some people believe there are no such things as souls. Does that mean we should not have moral objections to killing 17-year-old adolescents?"

In between, this article makes statements and comments for all people to read and understand, whether you are approving or disapproving of stem cell research, or somewhere undecided.

As with most everything in life, there is little black and white, but only a whole lot of gray area when dealing with such issues as stem cell research.

We all could, and should, have opinions on the matter, but these opinions need to be based on understanding and knowledge from both sides of the issue.

You will probably not find you are totally accepting of either side’s position if you rationally and logically think about the positives and negatives from both the pro- and anti-stem cell research groups.

In any case, one side has had eight years of restrictions on federal funding, and now the other side will have at least four years of funding for the research of stem cells.

Learn more about stem cells and stem cell research at:

The National Institutes of Health: Stem Cell Information (Stem Cell Basics)

Wikipedia.com: Stem Cell

How Stuff Works: “What are stem cells and what are they used for?”